How to Vacation with your Dragon (Story the 3rd)
by Marty the Martian
Summary: New name and re-write of 3rd story. War is hell; and the Dragon Riders first experience of battling against men was far more stressful than any of them had expected so Huccup decided that they could all use a bit of a holiday but little do they realise, that they are under investigation and the presence of poachers won't help them to relax either.
1. Chapter 1

**Another re-write: I was not happy with this tale so I have changed it and the title. It follows straight on from Seasick Dragon' (story the 2****nd****) which started out as a short story about the rebuilding of the Berk fleet and ended up as a Five Act Epic about Love, War and Cross Dressing in a distant land.**

**This was not my best idea for a story but I hope that it has become a reasonable adventure with some humour on the side and a good lead in to Sigrids wedding.  
**

* * *

How not to Vacation with your Dragon

1 New Lands

Hiccup was feeling excited; he loved having the opportunity to see something new even if it was from up at cloud level and the castle he and his friends were looking down upon in the country of New Loran was very different to Bolthorn Castle they had left behind in Elydonia. The castle home of King Joric the Fifth of Bolthorn consisted of high stone walls topped by ramparts with various buildings inside the huge compound such as barracks, the Palace and stables with the main town situated outside the walls whereas the castle that the Dragon Riders were now looking down on, consisted of a much lower and thicker stone wall that surrounded the entire town with a taller but smaller diameter stone building in the very center.

"Look at all those wooden buildings crammed inside those stone walls" Snotlout commented "they may be able to defend that place from an earthbound force but it wouldn't last ten minutes in a dragon attack."

"You have to remember Snotlout, that those people haven't had three hundred years of dragon war experience to fall back on" Fishlegs pointed out.

"And besides" Astrid added "if they don't attack us, then we won't attack them so why should they worry."

"And they're all blissfully unaware that there are five dragons flying directly overhead anyway" Ruffnut pointed out.

"King Joric advised us to keep flying south for at least another two hours before we start looking for a nice place to camp so not only do the people of New Loren have nothing to fear from us but we won't have to worry about the people of New Loran either" Hiccup concluded.

Hiccup had been leading the Dragon Riders south for just over an hour now and he was hoping to find an idealistic little place to settle down for the next two or three days where they could all relax and heal their bodies and minds after all the adventures they had just been through in Elydonia.

What had started out a few weeks ago for Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout as a simple afternoon trip with three of Berks children and their pet Nadders to an island close to home, had ended weeks later with a bloody war in a foreign land in which over a hundred people had been killed including the brave Viking warrior Ivar and Gobber's beloved Gronckle, Pigg. The stress of that battle was greater than they had expected and so Hiccup had decided that it would be good for them all to take a little time out before they returned home to relax and try to get over what had happened and maybe to talk about it with each other if they needed to; Stoick had fully agreed with his sons idea and allowed them all to go gladly.

Some time later, when the castle in New Loran had been left far behind them, Astrid noticed that Stormfly was having some difficulty in keeping up with the other dragons and was even beginning to lose altitude.

"HICCUP" she called out to her fiancé the Dragon Master who circled around to fly along side of her.

"What's wrong with Stormfly?" he asked.

"I don't know but she seems to be getting very tired."

"Already? But we've only been gone a few hours."

"I know Babe" Astrid was clearly worried about her dragon "but I think she needs a rest and soon."

"Okay then" he nodded "we're not out of New Loran yet but we are far enough away from the castle for a short stop so let's look for a deserted area where we can set down unseen."

Astrid's Deadly Nadder appeared to be trying her best but was continuing to fall behind as Hiccup searched for a suitable landing site. He noticed a few that seemed to fit their needs but the cream of the crop was a high hill near the coast. He could all see the farm animals grazing on the low lands but the sides of the hill were very steep so nobody had ever attempted to clear the forest around the bare rocky crest for rural use and so it gave the Dragon Riders perfect cover and anonymity in this unknown land. The dragons circled in and settled near the western tree line as the riders all dropped out of their saddles; Hiccup and Toothless wandered over to Stormfly as her rider began to untie the packs of camp supplies behind the saddle.

"Do you think she's overloaded?" he asked "The townsfolk in Staggshund were very generous when we were preparing to leave."

"Yes they were" Astrid replied "but I made sure that I didn't take too much; even if they did insist that I take more."

"I had the same problem" Fishlegs noted "some of the people there told me that they were really looking forward to paying us back for helping to save the town but my poor little Luggie Wuggie could never have carried it all."

"Well she does have to carry you" Tuffnut grinned "and I'm surprised she can do that."

"Hmm… more fat jokes Tuff?" Fishlegs sneered "Can't come up with anything new and original?"

"Okay you guys, settle down" Hiccup tried to defuse the tension "we haven't even reached our destination yet so let's not start on each other yet with the same old clichés and insults."

"CATCH" Astrid called as she threw Hiccup her sleeping roll.

"Oooof" he replied as it hit him in the gut.

Astrid then grabbed the side of a larger pack that held her small tent and supplies and dragged it off of Stormfly's back and onto the ground.

"Oooof"

She turned and looked at Hiccup with surprise.

"It wasn't me" he protested "it was your… your pack?"

Everyone jumped back a step even those who were standing nowhere near to Astrid.

"Th-there's something alive in your p-pack" Fishlegs shivered.

"Not for long" Astrid sneered as she grabbed the battleaxe slung to her back.

"WAIT" Hiccup called with urgency "I have this horrible feeling that…"

He knelt down and undid the straps that bound the pack.

"Watch out" Tuffnut declared gleefully "it may not be as toothless as… well… Toothless."

"Toothless has teeth" Ruffnut pointed out.

"Oh yeah" her brother realized "well… I just realized what a stupid name that is for a dragon."

"And it only took him a year" Ruffnut grinned.

Hiccup lifted the flap on the canvas pack to find, amongst all the other items, a teenage girl with a coy smile.

"Hi there" she waved "nice day for flying… hmm?"

"DIANTA! What on earth are you doing in my pack?" Astrid declared fuming.

Every one of the Dragon Riders was surprised to see the young stowaway as she climbed out of Astrids pack. Dianta was the thirteen year old daughter of Gauk; an Elydonian sailor who had spent a week or two as a prisoner of Chief Stoick the Vast before being allowed to return to his home again. It was at this home that Dianta had first set eyes on Astrid and Stormfly and ever since that first meeting, she had desired nothing more than to become a Dragon Rider herself even though one of her first experiences on the back of a dragon had resulted in a sudden attack of nausea all over Hiccup's back.

"Please don't be angry with me" she pleaded "I really wanted to go back to Berk with you all and this was the only way I could…"

"YOU BRAINLESS IDIOT" Astrid screamed at her before holding her axe blade less than an inch away from the young girl's nose.

"Wait a minute Astrid" Hiccup pulled the blade away "just… take a deep breath…"

"YOU TAKE A DEEP BREATH" she screamed back.

"Uh-oh… trouble in paradise" Snotlout smirked and soon found the axe blade at his throat.

"You really do not want to go there" Astrid threatened through gritted teeth.

"Hey… Astrid; what's the big deal" Ruffnut shrugged "I mean… yeah she shouldn't have done it but… no real harm done."

"No harm?" Astrid looked back at Ruffnut in wonder before turning back to Dianta "did you know that we weren't going back to Berk today?"

"Err… no" Dianta was wondering why everyone was so adamant that she always stay calm at home when Astrid could explode whenever she wanted.

"Exactly" Astrid replied "but if we were headed home to Berk, the first leg of the trip would have been to Lookout Island and that would have taken most of the day to complete OVER OPEN OCEAN."

"Oh… I see" Hiccup turned a little pale.

"Then would someone mind explain it to me?" Tuffnut asked.

"If Stormfly had been so far from land when this happened" Astrid explained "then there would have been nowhere for her to rest and I would not have let her drown; so I would have just dumped my pack into the sea without a second thought and nobody would have ever known what had become of Dianta."

"We all would have thought that she had disappeared back in Elydonia on her way home from Staggshund" Hiccup noted.

"Uh... I did leave a note saying that I was going with you" Dianta informed them "my parents would have found it by now."

"And the next time we saw them" Astrid threw her hands up in the air "they would be asking where their DAUGHTER WAS."

"And we would have to tell them that Astrid had dropped her in the ocean in a canvas bag" Tuffnut grinned.

"Oh Astrid" Ruffnut sighed "how could you?"

"WHAT? I… I didn't… I'd never…"

"This is why you can't just do whatever you want without telling anyone" Hiccup knelt down to explain "Astrid really likes you… and the thought that she could have killed you… even by accident…"

"I'm sorry Astrid" Dianta climbed out of the pack and stood by the big blue dragon "I didn't realize…"

"Yeah… well… just watch it… that's all."

"That's all?" Tuffnut gasped "Aren't you gonna hit her? Ruffnut would."

"No… I wouldn't hit her… I'd hit you though" she hit her brother hard "see?"

"Oh yeah" he realized "I knew you'd hit someone."

* * *

**Ah yes… It feels good to have another story done and dusted (I'll be starting on the next one after the 'Dragon Island' rewrite)**

**A big 'Hi there' to Midoriko san, Persephone Underhill, TravelQueen124, SharKohen, Shadowda, LoneKnightD, CloudsAboveTheSky, Dreaming-about-Dragons, TeenyLambOfGod, Snowcat21, Razor95, Gearsky, Jeff20, Bartosz2131, Systemman, Woulfman96 and of course my old friend The Nightmare Bringer as well as a few guests who took the time to review Seasick Dragon – you all helped me on my way; thank you.**

_**STOP ENCOURAGING HIM! Moon the Mighty.**_=^..^= (purr)


	2. Chapter 2

**Man but it's good to be posting again and seeing that people are reading; I better not neglect the housework again though :-D**

* * *

2 Stowaway

Stormfly devoured another one of the fresh fish Astrid offered while Fishlegs and Ruffnut cooked up a few more for the riders early lunch.

"Thanks for getting these fish Snotlout" Astrid acknowledged as she petted her dragon "Stormfly's looking much better now after a feed and a rest."

"Hey... you know that I'd still do anything for you" Snotlout still had that stomach churning smile but these days Astrid didn't mind so much.

"Even if I am engaged to Hiccup?" she reminded him.

"You're not married yet and there's still time for you to change your mind you know" he blew her a kiss.

"Well at least you're consistent; hopeless... but consistent."

"Did I just hear you trying to steal my lady away from me?" Hiccup asked suspiciously as he approached.

"Hey you should be thanking me" Snotlout stated.

"Oh my goodness; he's serious" Astrid was truly stunned.

"Alright Snotlout I'll bite" Hiccup smirked "why should I be thanking you?"

"Just think about it for a minute; if she can resist all this raw Viking sexuality..."

"Oh how I wish that you had not just used that word" Astrid held her stomach as she genuinely felt ill.

"...then you know that she is yours forever" Snotlout stated.

"Well your theory is sound but I can't say as much for your application" Hiccup shook his head.

"Don't knock it Babe" Astrid declared "just watch me resist him; I'm really good at it."

* * *

Almost an hour passed as the Dragon Riders sat around the fire on top of the high hill and picked out their individual favourite fish to devour for lunch.

"Okay so who's gonna take her back?" Fishlegs asked as started on his second helping.

"Please don't take me back yet" Dianta pleaded "I want to stay with you guys."

"Of course you do" Snotlout grinned proudly "we're so cool."

"But you parents will be worried about you" Hiccup pointed out "and I don't want to make them worry needlessly."

"If we were going back to Berk, I'd agree with you" Astrid pondered "but they do know that she is with us and Gauk knows that we'll be back in a few days."

"Wait... we're going back? Fishlegs asked "I thought we were going to head home to Berk after this trip."

"You will be" Astrid informed them "but Hiccup and I have to go back to Bolthorn Castle briefly to do something for Chief Stoick."

"So I can stay with you till then?" Dianta's face lit up.

"If our fearless leader agrees... then yes but if not... back you go" Astrid had her reasons for wanting Dianta to stay but she also wanted to give the young girl a lesson in following orders and the chain of command.

"So you don't mind taking care of her then?" Hiccup asked.

"The way I see it Hiccup, is that at the moment she is even more of a rebel than Snotlout."

"Yeah... I'm a rebel" Snotlout grinned.

"That was not meant to be a compliment; so we give her a chance to see what life is really like as a Dragon Rider and then we take her back home. If her attitude improves, then maybe she can come to Berk when next winter ends; otherwise she has to wait ANOTHER YEAR" Astrid glared straight into Dianta's eyes.

"I get the message" the young girl gasped.

"Okay then" Hiccup decided "after lunch we'll all go through our packs and leave behind what we can live without, spread some Astrids gear amongst the other dragons and Dianta can fly with Astrid on Stormfly the rest of the way."

"But I need all my stuff" Ruffnut moaned.

"We only have to fly for another hour or so" Astrid pointed out "and now that Stormfly is rested I'm sure she'll be okay so we won't have to leave much; just some of the heavy stuff."

"Like your axe?" Tuffnut knew this would upset Astrid.

"I AM NOT LEAVING MY AXE; I need it to keep Snotlout in line."

"Well... alright" Hiccup pondered "but maybe someone else should take your axe to lighten your load; there's a lot of iron there."

"M-my axe Hiccup?" Astrid suddenly looked like a little child being asked to give up her stuffed toy.

"Just for an hour" Hiccup comforted her as she removed it from its sling.

"But... I feel naked without it."

"Hmm..." Snotlout grinned creepily "now there's a thought I like."

Astrid was suddenly very happy to let go of her axe as it flew through the air and embedded itself into the tree trunk that Snotlout was leaning on; neatly trimming his ear hair.

"I didn't HAVE to miss you know" she glared as she pulled the axe from the tree.

"I-I b-believe you" replied the shivering young Viking.

* * *

'Five strange flying creatures spotted moving south near Krundon' wrote the man with pointed beard. 'I believe they may have come from Elydonia or further north. They were observed landing on the top of Baldcrest Hill where they remained for over an hour before departing and resuming their course south. Surprised to see that they appeared to be carrying riders - Investigation continuing.'

He folded the corners of the paper into the centre and held a red candle over the place where the four points met. After blowing lightly on the dripped wax, he pressed the ring on the smallest finger of his left hand onto the paper leaving the impression of an ornate D in the wax.

"I need you to take this report to the capital" the bearded man handed the note and a silver coin to a very scruffy looking boy of eleven.

"Right away Milord" he replied and ran off as the man slung a satchel over his shoulder and walked out of the building to address his servant.

"Fetch my horse and the wagon Fotherington; we're going on a little journey to Baldcrest Hill."

* * *

"How ya doin' Stormfly?" Astrid leant forward to scratch her dragon's neck as they flew.

"Rraak" came the joyful response.

Stormfly had been a little concerned about the time she had spent in the air with such a heavy load but her little pet Viking had taken good care of her, just like always, by giving the dragon plenty of food and time to rest before they continued their journey together and even though she was now carrying two people, the load felt a little lighter now. All this only confirmed what Stormfly already new; of all the dragons that lived on Berk, her pet Viking girl was one of the best. The only person that the Nadder believed could even come close to being as good, was the boy that most of the dragons called 'Iron Leg' but to Stormfly and her friends, he would always be 'Fish Boy' for it was he that had come to them in the middle of the night back when they were still prisoners of the Vikings and had fed them fresh fish instead of the rotten leftovers they were usually given. It was he who had first made friends with the dragons and it was he who had given each one of them a pet who would always be with them and Stormfly would forever be grateful that Fish Boy had given Stormfly Astrid; the best pet a dragon could wish for by far.

"I think we must be well away from New Loran now" Fishlegs called out to Hiccup an hour later "what do you think?"

"I certainly hope so; I'm glad that we didn't run into anyone or any trouble while we were back there."

"So we can start looking for a place to camp?" Astrid enquired.

"Yeah; let's find somewhere nice." Hiccup took a deep breath; he felt more relaxed already.

"Actually let's find two nice little somewheres" Astrid informed them "reasonably close by to each other so me, Ruff and Dianta can indulge in a little girl talk tonight."

"That shouldn't be a problem; we've got hours till sunset" Hiccup agreed.

* * *

"Whoa there" the man with the pointed beard pulled back on the reigns and brought his thoroughbred to a halt under a tree with a very wide canopy near the base of Baldcrest Hill just as his servant did likewise to the pair of draught horses drawing the disguised cart. It was not as big as a gypsy caravan although it was covered and to anyone passing by, it gave all the appearances of being the home and business of a travelling purveyor of kitchen implements and farm tools.

"It's too late in the day to gather much information Fotherington so make a light camp here and we'll keep an eye and an ear out until first light."

"Yes Milord."

"Work quietly please because I'm going to get some sleep; wake me two hours after sunset."

"Yes Milord."

"Oh... and Fotherington..."

"Yes Milord?"

"No fire tonight."

"Understood Milord" he nodded knowingly.

Fotherington's master was an expert at stealth, disguise and the gathering of important information and during the many years that the young man had been in the masters employ, he had been very fortunate to learn many things but the masters name was not one of them.

* * *

"There's a couple of dead trees on the ground back there" Tuffnut pointed back the way he had come from as he dumped an armload of wood on the pile "so we've got a ready supply for the next few days."

Even though the Dragon Riders did not really need a wood fire for warmth or cooking, they still made a regular habit of having a good campfire when they were far from home for it gave a mild form of comfort and relaxation. A good fire could even provide the campers with a mild form of entertainment as they stared into the dancing flames, tended the fire itself, or argued with each other about the best way to keep it going; Fishlegs for example preferred a few large logs that would slowly turn into a pile of brightly glowing embers later in the evening while Tuffnut was a big fan of big flames, which was only to be expected from someone such as him.

"That's plenty for now so take the next load over to the girl's campsite" Hiccup instructed as he finished up slinging a wide canvas sheet between a couple of broad based trees as a crude shelter.

"Wait… why should we be supplying the girls with fire wood if they're setting up their own fort?"

"Oh Tuffnut, we've been through this" Hiccup sighed "This is not a competition or a game, these are campsites and not play forts and besides, Ruff and Dianta collected half of our woodpile so if it were a contest, they'd be winning."

"Don't you worry Hiccup, I won't let them win; I'll make the other pile twice as big" Tuffnut declared as he ran back to the dead trees.

"Right… yes… you um… you do that" Hiccup shook his head in disbelief.

The two campfires were actually quite close because the Dragon Riders had chosen a large glade by a river only a quarter mile from the coast that gave them plenty of fresh water and many opportunities for food. Snotlout and Hookfang had already caught and killed a wild boar and were currently preparing it to be spit roasted on the fire while Fishlegs had searched for and found several kinds of forest fruits; some of which he recognised but others were unknown to him so he brought samples of them all to Stormfly because Meatlug, as lovely as she was to Fishlegs, was more of a rock connoisseur. Stormfly sniffed at the offered berries but only took a select few so when she was finished, Fishlegs threw away the fruits that had been refused and left to gather more of the good ones.

Astrid returned from her own little hunting expedition fifteen minutes later as Hiccup finished up the second canvas shelter on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Have any luck?" Hiccup asked.

"Just a lot" Astrid smiled as she held up three plump pheasants "got some eggs too."

"Oh... joy."

* * *

**It once was a simple 1991 Ford Mercury Capri; greenish blue with chrome rims and a three spoke wooden steering wheel. It was the kind of car that Richard Hammond declared to be favoured by women under 25 and middle aged men who like ABBA but it had been... shall we say... modified. Thanks to the 'Inter-Spatial Cat Detector' I have just materialised somewhere within a mile of Moon the missing cat. GOOD LORD IT'S COLD! Why didn't Moon stay in the southern hemisphere and why didn't I 'modify' a car with a roof? I turn off the cassette tape playing 'Dancing Queen' and look around for any clue as to where I am; there is a sign that says 'Hildesheim 49km'. What the... I'M IN GERMANY! (That darn cat)**


	3. Chapter 3

3 Strange Discoveries

"I know you're younger than the rest of us but that's not much food you've got there" Snotlout noted as he tore off a succulent leg of boar for his dinner.

"I'm saving room for some of Astrids pheasants when they're done" Dianta smiled.

"You... want some of Astrid's pheasants?" Fishlegs was the one who spoke but they were all surprised.

"Oh come on" Dianta looked confused "They can't be that bad; they smell wonderful."

"It's not how they'll taste; it's just..."

"Hey" Astrid chimed in "I can spare her a drumstick or two if that's what she likes."

"This axe is amazing" Ruffnut declared as she employed Astrids pride and joy to slice off some roast boar onto her shield "it's like a filleting blade; how do you keep it so sharp?"

"Hiccup keeps it honed and balanced for me" she informed them "it's the only reason I'm marrying him."

They all laughed loud and heartily and Fishlegs was even unable to keep in his mouthful of dinner that was spat back into the fire as he tried to control his joy.

"Hey Hiccup" Tuffnut called out "I'll give you a kiss if sharpen my short sword."

"Tuffnut, I'd forge you a whole new armoury just to avoid kissing you."

"Please... please... I can't eat like this" Fishlegs begged as tears of laughter streamed down his face.

"Hey Astrid" Ruffnut informed her friend "it smells like your birds are done."

Astrid took a short walk to the second fire and she soon returned with the beautifully cooked pheasants. She tore off a drumstick for Dianta and placed it on Hiccups shield that the young girl had borrowed.

"Mmmm that does smell good" Hiccup noted.

"Isn't anybody else going to have some?" Dianta asked.

"Oh they're not for us" Snotlout informed her as Astrid tossed the first bird over the back of her head.

With a loud 'Snap' Stormfly snatched the roasted pheasant out of the air and with a few quick crunches, devoured it whole.

"They're for your dragon?" Dianta was surprised "I thought they ate fish."

"Amongst other things" Snotlout noted "but Stormfly really likes chicken and pheasant is close enough."

"Some poultry in her diet does wonders for her muscle recovery after a heavy work out like she had today" Astrid noted as she threw Stormfly the second bird.

Dianta looked down at the drumstick in her lap and thought about how exhausted the dragon had looked when they had stopped to rest before lunch after carrying the heavy pack with the extra passenger hidden inside. She glanced up at the look of joy on the Nadders face as she devoured the third and final pheasant and relished in the attention being lavished on her.

"Hey Stormfly" Dianta called out and as the dragon turned to look in her direction, she tossed the drumstick into the air for Stormfly to finish off.

"Nice one" Ruffnut whispered to Dianta as Astrid grinned and nodded at her.

"If you expect your dragon to look after you" Hiccup noted "then first you must look after your dragon."

* * *

The man with the pointed beard stood at the edge of the tree canopy and stared towards Baldcrest Hill; his servant had awoken him as ordered and was now preparing to bed down for the night himself.

"If I'm not here when you awaken Fotherington, bring me... hmm... pack three please."

"Pack three; understood sir."

As the servant lay down and wrapped himself in his bedroll, the man with the pointed beard set off silently and slowly in the almost moonless night feeling his way with his feet carefully while expertly listening and remembering every sound that emitted from the darkness for he relished the camouflage of the night and although he was not a blind man, he would often spend weeks at a time with his eyes bound to hone all of his other senses for just such a time as this.

* * *

"Well I have to admit" Tuffnut smiled in acknowledgement as he lay back and toasted his feet "this is fun but I still can't help wondering what we're doing out here."

"I just knew that it would be good to take a little break after all that we went through in Elydonia; it's been... how can I put this? Interesting to say the least" Hiccup replied.

"Especially after what happened in Staggshund I don't know if I'll ever get over it" Fishlegs shivered.

"I don't know what your problem is" Tuffnut declared "I'm sorry I missed it and I wish I'd been there."

"It's weird to hear you say that" Hiccup pointed out "because I wish I that I hadn't been there and I feel sorry that any of us, or anyone else for that matter, had to go through it at all."

"That is because you are a coward" Snotlout accused Hiccup "and you'd better toughen up before you take over as Chief some day."

"He's not a coward for wanting to avoid a fight if it is possible" Astrid pointed out "remember Snotlout; Hiccup led us that day and was the first one to fly into battle."

"Yeah whatever" Snotlout grumbled.

"I'm not saying that I would shirk my responsibilities in the future" Hiccup answered Snotlouts accusation "it's just that I'm sorry that it had to happen at all and I wish that I hadn't seen what I'd seen or done what I had to do."

"WELL I'M PROUD OF WHAT I DID" Snotlout shouted back "I fought to protect my friends and allies and I helped to defend all those innocent people in Staggshund... and their homes."

"Don't get me wrong Snotlout; I'm not upset with anything you did that day and you did a marvellous job of..."

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT UP ABOUT IT" Snotlout blew up "it's over... can't you just... forget about it?"

"I wish I could" Fishlegs sighed "but that was the first real battle I'd ever taken part in and it's hard to just... forget."

"I don't know what your problem is Snotlout" Astrid declared in frustration "you're normally the one who won't shut up about all of your 'Impressive Exploits' but this time..."

"It just bugs me and I err... don't want to talk about it."

"Come on Snotlout" Astrid decided to push him too far "why won't you talk to us?"

"Did you tell Hiccup what you did in the battle?"

"Yes I did" she replied arrogantly.

"EVERYTHING?" Snotlout accused as he stared straight into her eyes.

Astrid was taken aback and she thought deeply about exactly what she had talked about with Hiccup.

"To be honest... no... BUT I'M TRYING while you just keep clamming up and calling the rest of us cowards if we ever get mildly upset over all this; I AM NOT A COWARD SNOTLOUT... oh."

A slight look of shock came over Astrid as she finally realised what had been eluding her all this time.

"It's not us is it?" she asked not expecting an answer "it's you."

Snotlout said nothing but turned his face away.

"You think... that you're a coward... you think that you won't do what's required in the future" she suddenly felt the pity that Snotlout did not want receive.

"Snotlout... don't worry too much about it; we all have those fears."

"Yeah but you didn't see what I saw... you couldn't have."

"I saw some horrible things Snotlout."

"OH YEAH; WELL WHAT WAS THE WORST THING YOU SAW? COME ON... TELL ME; tell us."

Astrid took a deep breath and turned her face away as well; this was not going to be easy to admit to everyone.

"Hiccup..." she took another breath "Hiccup sent me to pick up the man who had shot Kylan at the start of the battle... after I had dropped a hay cart on them but... even though I had missed hitting them directly... on purpose... I saw..."

"What... what did you see?"

I saw that... some of men protecting Lord Tosh... at least two... maybe more... were dead. One had a piece of a cart wheel in his gut... and the other..." a tear ran down her cheek but she knew she had to finish "the other... somehow... had his throat torn open by the flying wood... it looked..." but she could not go on.

"That's bad... I agree" Snotlout said quietly feeling sorry for what he had just forced her to remember "but... even though, as Hiccup would say, this is not a contest... mine is worse. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"I think I must... and I think you have to tell it... or it will eat you up inside."

"You're as bad as Hiccup... I hate it when you're right."

She smiled at him as she prepared herself to hear his story; Fishlegs and Hiccup knew what was coming and were both feeling a little ill at the thought while Tuffnut and Ruffnut actually grinned in anticipation.

"I hate to say it now but... when Hiccup gave the order to attack... I was actually happy; I really wanted the whole thing to start... the waiting was driving me nuts. The first thing we did was to try to confuse and intimidate the enemy by blowing up the ground in front of them... and that worked; it defiantly gave Jorics small force a slight edge but... of course... it wasn't long before Lord Tosh's superior numbers began to push back and we had to... take a more direct roll. I guided Hookfang around towards a large group who were about to slaughter some of... well... I saw sailors... and townsfolk... I knew they didn't stand a chance on their own and... and I..."

"You attacked" Astrid completed his sentence.

"I ordered Hookfang to shoot" his voice broke "there were... men on fire... screaming... as we flew by I saw... bodies... and bits of bodies; I could not believe what I'd just done... what I'd ordered my dragon to do."

Snotlout turned away; he was beginning to feel sick. All the riders were silent for a long time and even the twins were stunned. Eventually Snotlout arose and walked off; he needed to be alone for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

**I have said often that I was not happy with the way that this story turned out and that is why I pulled it down for re-writing and that is why all the heavy stuff was repositioned into chapter 3 so I could put a lighter encounter between Snotlout and Astrid near the end of this chapter; hope you like it (I wet myself) :-D**

* * *

4 Facing Fears

"These black ones are nice; I wonder what they're called?" Astrid commented as she ate another one.

"Would you believe, blackberries?" Dianta smiled.

All talk of the Battle of Staggshund had ceased after Snotlouts revelation about his experiences and soon after his return to the fire, the three female members of the group had retired to the other side of the glade for the evening.

"We should see if we can get them to grow on Berk" Ruffnut declared "they may improve Gobbers rhubarb pies."

"If we had enough of these, he could forget about the rhubarb altogether" Astrid noted as she leant back against Stormfly's folded wing.

"Even if we don't have any of these blackberries, he should still forget about the rhubarb" Ruffnut smirked "sometimes I think those pies would make better weapons than desserts; and speaking about desserts..."

"Do you want to explain why you're looking at me like that?" Astrid asked suspiciously.

"Do you want to explain why you went from not wanting to be betrothed to Hiccup when we left Berk a few weeks ago, straight to being engaged after one little talk with me?"

"It wasn't our little chat Ruffnut... although... you did get me thinking."

"I could tell that when the best response you could come up with at the time was 'Shut up Ruffnut'; so what was it then?"

"I started thinking about... things... after the battle of Staggshund."

"Ah that again; scared that you could have lost him huh?" Ruffnut smiled.

"Partly; do you remember how you felt when we finally got back to Berk after we defeated the Red Death?"

"What on earth is the Red Death?" Dianta asked wide eyed.

"Later Dianta; later" Astrid left the young girl in suspense.

"Well I felt pretty good" Ruffnut thought "everyone treated us like heroes, we had our dragons to ride..."

"Exactly" Astrid pointed out "but we... or maybe I should say... I... didn't feel like a hero after Staggshund."

"Why not?" Ruffnut was confused "everyone I've spoken to tells me how great you and the other Dragon Riders were; you were the reason that we won... and the reason why Joric was able to become King in Elydonia."

"It's hard to explain Ruff... actually no... Snotlout was right; it's just hard... to talk about it."

Ruffnut and Dianta were silent for a moment as Astrid took a few deep breaths with rapid exhales as she tried to compose herself.

"Not only did I have to face up to the fact that I could have lost Hiccup but... well... it was just like Snotlout said; I just could not believe what I'd just done... the people I'd killed."

"But... but they were the enemy" Ruffnut pointed out "they were trying to kill you; they did kill Ivar... and Jorics men... some of the people of Staggshund... and Pigg."

"They killed a pig?" Dianta asked but soon regretted it when Ruffnut glared at her.

"I remember how disgusted I was with Hiccup last year... way back when I first found out about Toothless" Astrid explained "and I thought to myself... why didn't he kill it? Why wouldn't he kill this creature that had done so much damaged to Berk? Dragons were killers... that's all I knew... and I even wanted to kill Stormfly back in the training ring... but after Staggshund... I began to understand how he felt."

Dianta could not believe what she was hearing; there was a lot for her to learn about the history of the dragon wars.

"I could not believe that it had taken me this long to understand that even when you have to fight and kill an enemy... it's so hard to explain... but... I was both pleased that I helped save the town... and yet... at the same time... ashamed of what I'd done."

"That sort of explains what's up with Snotlout" Ruffnut realised.

"I tried to talk to Hiccup about it after the battle... but then... that was when we found... Ivar... dead" Astrid fell silent for a moment "but I knew all along that Hiccup was having the same thoughts as me and soon after that... I just realised that I did not want to... how can I put it?"

"Keep him at arm's length anymore? Ruffnut grinned.

"Well... yeah sorta."

"So you asked him to marry you."

"Yeah."

* * *

The tips of the trees that formed a ring around the top of Baldcrest Hill were silhouetted in the pre-dawn light as the man with the pointed beard began to notice details for the first time. At first they were simple things such as broken limbs and the remains of a fire but as the light increased he noticed something that he already knew was there from the aroma that had wafted over to him whenever the breeze shifted throughout the night; in the dead ashes of the fire were the remains of many fish.

"Be very careful where you step Fotherington and try not to disturb anything."

"Yes Milord" the servant grimaced.

He had learnt many things during the years of service he had given to his master and they had saved his life on more than one occasion but no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he applied his many skills to any situation, Fotherington could never seem to get the better of his master and sneak up on him unnoticed and it was beginning to bother him.

"Would you like to have a try this morning Fotherington?"

"Yes sir; if I may."

"Be my guest by all means."

Treading very lightly, Fotherington moved into the clearing on the top of Baldcrest Hill and observed what he could with great care. For almost an hour he looked, listened and inhaled before finally reporting to his master.

"It appears that there were six people here, one with an artificial leg… and four different creatures… that must all be capable of flight. The people cooked fish for their meal and the creatures ate the same but raw. After they had eaten, it appears that they spent a short time cleaning up and dividing… no… hiding some of what they had brought with them; they must be planning to return sir."

"Indeed Fotherington; I came to the same conclusion."

"So… I was right sir?" the servant smiled with delight.

"For the most part, yes" Fotherington's face fell.

"Oh don't be disappointed man for you did very well... very well indeed under the circumstances."

"But where did I go wrong sir?"

"Firstly there were five flying creatures and I have no way of knowing if I would have gotten the number right myself if had not been for the fact that I had already observed them as they alighted and departed yesterday. It appears that one of the creatures was very tired or unwell for it alighted on this large bare rock face and did not move from it until it was time to leave. You may observe that there are very slight marks where it's scratched the rock and there is still a slight aroma of fish where someone brought it food."

"I missed both of those signs sir."

"I wonder if I would have too had I not already known about the fifth creature."

"I highly doubt that sir; there were other details that I missed I assume."

"Just one… and I find it most disturbing."

"Is it that obvious sir?"

"Oh it's not disturbing that you missed it Fotherington; let me explain. There were seven people here, not six but I almost missed the seventh one myself as the signs of her presence are almost non-existent and the most disturbing thing is... it appears to me that she wasn't even trying to remain hidden; stealth for this young woman, appears to be a normal part of her life."

"A woman sir?"

"From the impression of the footfalls I'd guess that she was no older than twenty and no younger than fourteen... and that is pretty much a guess so it is no shame on your behalf that you did not notice; her skills are... excellent."

"Better than yours sir?"

"Maybe Fotherington... maybe."

"But she's so young."

"And that's what's bothering me."

* * *

"Where's Snotlout this morning?" Astrid asked as Hiccup devoured the pheasant eggs that she had fried up on a dragon heated rock.

"I heard him and Hookfang fly off just before dawn; I think he went further south towards the coast. He didn't want to talk much more last night so I thought I'd give him some time alone. I'll clean up if you want to go and see if you can find him."

"Thanks babe" she smiled "maybe he'll be happy to see his former betrothed."

"You're never gonna let him forget that are you?"

"Hey... he brought it on himself but... I'll go easy on him today."

"Yeah... at least until he's feeling better" Hiccup nodded "good luck resisting his raw Viking se..."

"DON'T SAY IT... please... just... don't say it."

* * *

The servant carefully removed the tree branch and rocks that hid the satchel pack and then handed it to his master.

"It's quite heavy sir... for such a small pack."

The man with the pointed beard weighed up the pack before opening it.

"Hmm... heavy items, mainly metal, abandoned by people on flying creatures."

"It appears that they had a weight problem sir."

"Indeed Fotherington... yes indeed."

* * *

Astrid and Stormfly flew a slightly irregular searching course towards the southwest for about fifteen minutes until they spotted Snotlout sitting on a large piece of driftwood near the coast, just watching the waves roll in while Hookfang sat at his side. They flew around in front of him and set down in the sand about fifty feet away.

"It's very different to Horston Beach in Elydonia" Astrid commented as she walked up to Snotlout "I think Olaf would have wrecked the Sharktooth if he'd tried to beach it here."

"Yeah… but the sound of the waves crashing is surprisingly relaxing" Snotlout sighed.

"We have waves like this on Berk" Astrid commented.

"True; but we always seem to hang out in the protected places… bays where the water is calm. I think I'll try and find a spot like this when we get home."

"On the island where we first came across Prince Nainn perhaps" Astrid suggested.

"Yeah maybe; I'm beginning to think that Hiccup was on the right path when he came up with the idea of building shelter huts on the islands around Berk."

"Now I know you're not into fishing" Astrid crossed her arms as she looked at him suspiciously "so why would you want to get away and be on your own again; and why are you sitting here on your own now?"

"Hiccup sent you to try and get to come back didn't he?"

"Not really but he knows I'm here."

"Am I a coward Astrid?"

"My first response is to say no but what do you mean exactly? Is it because of your regrets after the battle or that you're worried about what you may not do when you next have to fight?"

"Oddly enough... neither; I'm sure that I won't back down when we get into trouble and you know that with Hiccup leading us" Snotlout smirked "there will be trouble but... I'm beginning to understand why he..."

"Always tries to make peace first?" Astrid offered.

"I was going to say 'be a wuss' but... yeah."

"And therein lies your problem; you have always associated Hiccups actions in diplomacy as fear and cowardice and so now that you are beginning to understand his point of view, you just assume that you're turning into a coward too but what you have not been able to fully grasp yet is that Hiccup was never a coward... just as you're not now. Think about it for a minute; even the mighty Stoick tried to make peace with both King Rekkur and his son but he was always ready to fight as well."

"Yeah... Stoick" Snotlout eyes lit up "and he's almost as brave as my dad."

"Err... yeah... okay... so if you can't bear the thought of agreeing with Hiccup, then just think of how you're agreeing with Stoick instead."

"Of course" Snotlout joy was apparent "and since I'm third in line after Hiccup and my dad to be chief, then thinking like Stoick just shows how great a chief I'd be."

"Exactly but remember that you're only third in line until the wedding and then you and your dad slip down a rung."

"Oh no" Snotlout realised.

"And after that... when I start popping out heirs..." Astrid grinned at Snotlouts discomfort.

"No... wait... you can't" he begged as Astrid wandered back to Stormfly.

"Oh yes I can; Hofferson women are very fertile."

"But... but you're not getting married for a long time yet... are you?"

"Haven't decided yet" she climbed into the saddle as Stormfly stretched her wings.

"And you don't have to start a family straight away... after all... having children is highly overrated" he implored her as she flew off "THAT'S WHAT MY DAD ALWAYS SAYS!"

* * *

The servant and master completed their task of replacing the satchel and arranging the rocks and branches as best they could, hoping that no one would notice that they had been disturbed.

"Very good Fotherington; now I have fresh orders for you."

"Yes sir."

"Go back down the hill; take the wagon and my horse back towards Krundon at least two miles away from the tree where they are now. Make camp in a hidden place and if you have not seen me within seven days, then return to the tree and await my return for a further two days before you come and look for me here."

"And if you're not here sir?"

"Then you have received a promotion Fotherington."

"Understood Milord" they both chuckled "and err... no fire Milord?"

"You may have a fire at that distance."

"Thank you sir" the servant departed leaving his master alone with pack three.

* * *

**Ah Germany; historic yet modern and very impressive... but why had Moon come here? I stopped at a shopping centre to buy a warm coat and gloves (hooray for credit cards) before beginning the search.**

"**Excuse me sir" I asked a friendly looking man soon after "do you speak any English?"**

"**I have a little" he replied.**

"**I am looking for a white cat; have you seen one?"**

"**Jawohl I have oddly enough; I saw a short man with a very strange valk carrying a vhite caht und going from door to door just up die road."**

"**Dank Herr" I thanked him and ran off in the direction he had indicated and soon found what I was looking for.**

**Walking down the front path from a small house was... I don't believe it... it's Asimo dressed in a cheap suit and carrying my cat. No... Moon has stolen it; he has stolen a million dollar robot to carry him around Germany... wait a minute... that doesn't make any sense.**


	5. Chapter 5

5 Friend or Foe?

The man with the pointed beard closed his eyes and sat very quietly as he took long, slow breaths. He listened to the sounds that emitted from the forest around the crest of the hill; he noted the aromas and directions in which they came from. As time passed, he also took care to remember any changes that occurred as the sun moved slowly across the sky, all the while being aware that the sound of beating wings could arrive at any moment. After he felt that he had gathered all the information that he needed, he opened his eyes, picked up pack three and moved to a point in the undergrowth some thirty feet away from the hidden Berkian satchel; within a minute, he had completely disappeared.

* * *

Hiccup scanned the horizon looking for any sign of Astrid or Snotlout when all of a sudden Toothless roared out to Stormfly. His keen dragon senses noticed the Nadders presence in the distance long before Hiccup could and so they were soon flying alongside each other once again.

"You found Snotlout I assume?"

"Sure did babe and I managed to get his mind off the battle by giving him something else to worry about."

"And what was that?"

"Never you mind" Astrid smirked at her little secret.

Hiccup glanced over as they flew back to camp side by side and he noticed that Astrid was smiling at him so he smiled back.

"Thanks" she simply remarked.

"Err... you're welcome... but I didn't do anything."

"You've done more than you realise" she replied as she turned back, closed her eyes and felt the breeze in her face; Astrid felt safe.

The pair arrived back to find the twins repositioning the canvas shelter that the boys had employed the previous night nearer to the fire that the girls had used.

"Hmm... I though the view was better from the other side" Hiccup commented.

"It is" Ruffnut agreed "but for some reason Tuffnut put the biggest wood pile here and I wasn't gonna move it."

"I had to make this pile bigger to beat the girls" Tuffnut declared proudly.

"You tried to defeat us by giving us the bigger wood pile?" Ruffnut looked at her brother in amazement "that doesn't even make sense to me... and beat us in what exactly?"

"I dunno" he shrugged "ask Hiccup."

"No... please... don't ask Hiccup" Hiccup begged "this trip is supposed to be about relaxation not confusion."

"You're the one who said that Ruff and Dianta were winning" Tuffnut insisted.

"No; I meant that... oh forget it."

"That's probably the wisest thing to do" Astrid grinned at Hiccups frustration.

"Especially where my brother is involved" Ruffnut slapped the forlorn Dragon Master so hard on the back that he almost fell over.

"So where are the others?" Hiccup asked.

"Fishlegs has taken Dianta for a ride on Meatlug because he is trying to convince her that she should choose a Gronckle if she ever gets the chance to become a Dragon Rider" Snotlout informed them.

Well he's got his work cut out for him" Astrid declared "because I think she's got a thing for Deadly Nadders."

"Ah... but just you wait until she gets the chance to experience the might and power of the Monstrous Nightmare" Snotlout noted smugly as he and Hookfang returned to the camp "at least we know that she won't go for a Night Fury."

"Well Toothless is the only one that we know of" Hiccup patted his dragon.

"It's not that" Snotlout grinned "the last time she rode on Toothless she threw up."

"Oh ha ha; very funny Snotlout" Hiccup sneered at the memory of how uncomfortable the incident had been for him but even Astrid could not keep a straight face.

* * *

Since the dragons had finished off the last of the fish as well as all the leftovers of last night's boar, it was decided that the main target for the day's food hunting and trapping would be more pheasant as everyone could still vividly remember the glorious aroma of the pit roasted birds; plus they appeared to be quite numerous in the woods around their camp.

"It's funny really" Dianta noted as she helped Ruffnut, Hiccup and Fishlegs to prepare some of the birds caught that afternoon "I always hated helping my mother do this kind of thing at home... but out here... with you guys... it's different somehow."

"Well it may be the same old chore but the surrounding is different" Ruffnut noted "maybe that's it."

"Perhaps" Dianta pondered "but I think there's more to it than just a different location."

"I get the feeling that your life on the farm has been pretty safe and secure" Hiccup suggested "even with your dad away at sea."

"Well yeah... but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Ever since we were born, we've been living with the daily risk of attack and the constant destruction of the village so we would never feel secure but all that changed last year when the dragon war ended and we started to get a taste of the good life."

"Yeah... peace in the village al last" Ruffnut sighed "I'd almost forgotten what life was like before."

"I can't see what you're getting at" Dianta shrugged.

"I think what Hiccup is trying to say is that if you've only ever know a peaceful life it may be hard to really appreciate what you've got" Fishlegs added.

"That's right" Ruffnut grinned "I can't remember the last time that I had to sleep on the floor of the Great Hall because my room had been destroyed and has anyone noticed that the whole village even smells better now because everyone has been able to keep enough clothes in their wardrobes to have a regular wash day and keep them clean."

"Yeah; no more waring the same clothes for a month because everything you owned was burnt to a crisp" Fishlegs agreed.

"Think about it" Hiccup said 'camping out here, although we've got it easy with all our equipment and dragons, we are all working together for the sake of our own survival. If we didn't keep the fire going, we'd be cold and if we didn't catch and prepare the food, we'd starve; have you ever looked at your life at home like that before?"

Dianta did not answer right away as she thought about her home and how everything she needed just seemed to be there; her bed, her clothes, food everyday and anything else that she needed.

"If anyone isn't helping with the work" Hiccup continued "then that makes it harder for everyone else and that's true for a small group like us, a family, a tribe or anyone and besides, when you all work together it's much more satisfying."

"And we all make up for each other's shortfalls which is why Mr. Squeaky leg here isn't out trapping pheasants" Ruffnut grinned as Hiccup poked his tongue out at her.

"It all seems so different now" Dianta declared "and I don't really understand why."

"I think that perhaps in the past, you only saw the work" Fishlegs added "whereas now you are beginning to see the joy and satisfaction in the results of the work."

"Yeah" Ruffnut chimed in "like when you gave Stormfly that drumstick last night; she had worked very hard to get you here and so you were happy to do something for her."

"I think I understand... when my mother told me to do something in the past, I just saw the 'work' that was killing any fun I was having" Dianta sighed.

"We always try to have fun when we can though" Fishlegs noted.

"All this aside" Dianta noted "I suppose one of the things that really impresses me about your whole tribe is that no one ever wants to use the power of the dragons to steal things from others to get rich."

"Thank you" Hiccup said "but if you think about it, we're already rich."

"What are you talking about?" Dianta looked confused "you guys seem very ordinary to me, apart from the dragons of course, so why would you say that you're rich?"

All three were quite surprised by Dianta's question and looked at each other in bemusement.

"Obviously it hasn't sunk in yet but when I'm hungry" Fishlegs began "I get something to eat."

"And if my clothes get torn or dirty, I just get something else from my room" Ruffnut added.

"If it's cold, dark or raining" Hiccup concluded "I just go into my house for warmth and shelter; that's why we say we're rich."

"Because it's not as if we have barely enough to get by but we all have much more than we need... way more than we need to live and enjoy life" Fishlegs nodded "and anything else is just embellishment."

"The dragons are a bonus" Ruffnut agreed.

"When things have been going good for so long" Hiccup thought out loud "it's easy to forget what it was like to go through hard times and most of our lives we've been in a real fight for survival against the dragons."

"We've only had the chance to really relax for just over a year now after three hundred years of struggle so when the whole Elydonian invasion thing happened, it was a bit of a wakeup call for us" Fishlegs added "we suddenly realised that life everywhere wasn't as good as life on Berk and we weren't prepared for anyone who might come along and just try to take over like Prince Nainn did."

"Yup; the dragon war is over but life goes on and you never know what surprises it has just around the corner for you" Ruffnut grinned; she liked surprises.

* * *

Surprises were often the 'Soup of the Day' for the Dragon Riders as Astrid found out when she went to check one of her pheasant snares.

"Err... GUYS" she called to Tuffnut and Snotlout.

They arrived to find her pointing to a sprung trap but no bird, just feathers; lots and lots of feathers.

* * *

"There's a dragon in the forest" Astrid announced as she entered the camp with two more pheasants in hand.

"You have to stop hanging out with my brother" Ruffnut declared "we've got five dragons in the forest."

"Well now we've got at least six" Astrid replied "Snotlout trying to find out what it is."

"What's Tuffnut doing?" Hiccup asked.

"Err... making life difficult for Snotlout; what else?"

"What do you know so far?"

"Something big took a pheasant from one of my snares and at first I thought it was just a wolf or something but it had footprints similar to a Nadder; could be a Raincutter."

"Okay then; Ruffnut can take Dianta on Barf and Belch and keep her clear of any danger" Hiccup ordered "everyone else, get to your dragons and follow Astrid."

"Can't I come too?" Dianta asked.

"Not till we know what we're up against" Hiccup insisted "now don't fly too close together and keep your eyes open."

"Come on boy; I'll take you Snotlout" Astrid calmed Hookfang as she leapt into the Nightmares saddle.

It was much easier for her to fly Hookfang and signal Stormfly to follow than it would have been to try it the other way; Snotlout really needed to better train his dragon. In less than two minutes the Dragon Riders were circling over an area east of where the trappers had found the feathers and Astrid guided Hookfang down as close as she could get.

"I've brought your dragon" she informed Snotlout as she caught up with he and Tuffnut "have you found much?"

"More tracks and the occasional feather" Snotlout replied.

"We haven't seen any sign from the air yet so you two join the fray up there and tell Hiccup that I'll track it from down here."

"Gotcha" Snotlout replied and rushed off to his dragon.

"What about me?" Tuffnut looked disappointed "my dragon's not here."

"Well... you can come with me I suppose" she began before realising what it would be like with Tuffnut crashing through the forest "no wait... go on Stormfly for now; she'll take good care of you."

"Hey; I'll be the one who takes good care of her" Tuffnut replied proudly as he turned to go and fell over a tree root.

"Yeah... right" she mumbled to herself and took off to follow the fresh trail "sorry Stormfly; I'll make it up to you somehow."

It was definitely not a small dragon and it appeared to be in somewhat of a hurry and so Astrid had no trouble following the trail almost as fast as she could run. Whenever the tree canopy allowed her to, she would make visual contact with Hiccup and signal any slight change of direction before plunging headlong into the undergrowth and continuing the chase. As the trail led further and further away from their campsite, Astrid began to realise that she would probably be safe to let this wild dragon go if she needed to because it was beginning to look increasingly unlikely that they were encroaching into its territory but it had come fairly close to them so she decided to make very sure that all was well because of their Elydonian guest.

After making contact with Hiccup for the sixth time, Astrid was about to run off again when she heard the sound of something up ahead; something trying desperately not to be heard. She quickly froze and then stepped carefully back away from the sound and into the centre of the tiny clearing from where she had just signalled Hiccup who instantly noticed her change of stance and direction.

"What's she doing? Oh..." he realised as he watched her from above.

The dragon ahead of her remained well hidden a short distance away and slightly to the right of the direction in which she had been pursuing it and Astrid surmised that it was expecting her to run straight passed but did it wish to remain hidden or was it planning to attack her from behind? As she considered all possibilities and what her best course of action would be, her highly tuned senses picked up something that she had not considered during the chase.

"Oh you idiot" she whispered to herself as she became aware of the second presence.

* * *

"**MOON; WAIT!" I called out but he was not about to succumb to my request.**

"_**Run you Computerized Clump of Cacophonous Cogs**_**" he ordered the robot. (Oh great; my cat has been watching old episodes of 'Lost in Space')**

"**PLEASE MOON, I JUST WANT TO TALK!"**

**He ordered the robot to stop running and allowed me to get closer, thank heavens. Middle aged Australians should not chase cat carrying robots through the streets of German villages; it tends to attract unwanted attention.**


	6. Chapter 6

6 Come in Peace and Shoot to Kill

or What's a Pheasant or Two Between Friends?

Hiccup watched Astrid closely as Toothless circled overhead. She had ceased her pursuit of the wild dragon and held up her hand as a sign for him to wait.

"How's it going?" Snotlout enquired.

"She's caught up with it" Hiccup replied "keep your distance for now but follow me in if it attacks."

"Gotcha" Fishlegs acknowledged.

Astrid knew for sure that she could rely on her friends to come to her aid if she gave the signal or showed any sign of distress but for now she still felt quite safe as she summed up the situation. The dragon that Astrid had been tracking had ceased hiding and was moving slowly through the undergrowth back towards her and she could tell by the tone of its growling that it was not a happy bunny... err... dragon.

Astrid glanced behind herself and chose an escape route just in case while keeping all her senses focused on the two wild dragons. It was at that point she became aware of something very interesting; the second dragon did not appear to be moving in towards her and the first, instead of blocking her escape, was positioning itself between the girl and the other dragon.

"It's protecting the other one" she whispered to herself.

Astrid gave the dragon precisely what she believed it desired by moving away from the second beast as smoothly as she could while being sure not to make any sudden movements. The wild dragon began to act with greater boldness now that the intruder was retreating and dared to show itself to her so that the young girl could get a good look at its teeth.

"Hmm" she spoke softly "so you're not a Raincutter then."

Moving slowly through the bushes towards her, Astrid could see an adult female Hobblegrunt. This breed of dragon was a little smaller than Stormfly but not much and it had a longer face, a notable under bite and a wide frill across the back of its head; some Vikings had nicknamed them Mood Dragons because of the way they would change colours giving obvious clues as to what they were feeling at any given time. Astrid noticed that the stolen pheasant carcass was still being held in the front claws of the Hobblegrunt; she smiled to herself as she realised that the other dragon must be incapable of hunting for itself.

"What's happening down there?" Fishlegs asked as Meatlug moved into formation with Toothless.

"I'm not totally sure" Hiccup replied "but she doesn't want us to intervene yet."

"Err Hiccup... that's a..."

"I know Fishlegs."

"And it's red."

"Very."

"That means it's..."

"Angry; I know"

Because of the large number of different dragon calls, nobody on Berk was yet to learn all of them but it was generally accepted by everyone that Fishlegs had mastered the largest variety of cries and roars from the largest variety of dragon species but Astrid on the other hand, would just have to hope that this Hobblegrunt was aware of what a Nadder sounded like when it was being non-threatening so she did her very best to repeat the soft sounds that Stormfly would make when she was happy and contented and then added the sound of greeting she made when the dragons would all come together and much to her relief, her efforts appeared to have the desired effect.

The redness of the Hobblegrunt's skin began to fade and even changed to a light bluish purple on its nose and neck as it ceased its advance and although Astrid believed that she may be pushing her luck just a little too far, she moved a step closer to the wild dragon but her first instinct proved to be correct as the purple disappeared and the Hobblegrunt turned completely red once more.

"Okay; I get the message" she whispered and backed off again.

The Hobblegrunt stood back and it appeared to Astrid as if it were frowning at her. It looked up at the Night Fury and Gronckle circling overhead and gave a single loud territorial cry of possession that the flying dragons quickly acknowledged in reply; even Stormfly and Hookfang who were circling out of sight. An idea began to form in Astrids mind and she bobbed her head slightly in a dragon sign of submission before backing off another ten paces. She then rushed off to a safer, non-threatening distance and signalled Fishlegs to come and pick her up because Meatlug was the perfect dragon to drop vertically down below the tree canopy and soon Fishlegs was reaching out his hand to help Astrid up.

"That was one angry Hobblegrunt you had down there" he remarked as they gained height "I thought it was going to attack you."

"Actually there are at least two of them and the one that I was following appears to be protecting the other one so I suspect that it may be sick or injured."

"Ah; that explains the warning."

"Is that what the last cry was?" Astrid asked.

"Yes indeed" Fishlegs grinned proudly "it was telling the other dragons that this is her spot and that if anyone gave her any trouble, she would not be happy."

"She certainly didn't look very happy from where I stood" Astrid agreed.

"True; the brighter the red, the angrier the Hobblegrunt."

"I'm glad to see you safely out of there" Hiccup declared as Toothless flew up alongside.

"Then you won't be happy when I tell you that I'm going back."

"Hmm… then you better not tell me."

"Okay; do me a favour babe and go get me a fresh fish or two."

"Ah… clever; the old give the dragon a fish method" Hiccup nodded and flew off.

"Don't get me wrong Astrid" Fishlegs asked "but if that Hobblegrunt is so angry and wants to keep everyone away, then why do you want to go back."

"As I said; it's pretty obvious that there is something wrong with the other dragon" she replied "so I want to at least try to see if we can help."

Hiccup soon returned and Toothless had a whole mouthful of fish for Astrid who received them gladly.

"Thanks Toothless" she tossed one back to the Night Fury "you deserve to have one for yourself."

"I think you should let me have first try" Fishlegs declared as they returned to the ground "I can do a better Hobblegrunt greeting call than anyone on Berk."

"But we're not on Berk" Astrid smiled.

"Oh yes, ha ha, now shut up and give me a fish" he replied as he dropped to his feet.

Fishlegs made the friendliest Hobblegrunt calls that he could manager as he moved slowly back towards the place where Astrid had last seen the red dragon. Meatlug followed closely at his heels while Astrid stayed another ten paces back ready to leap into action if the wild dragon attacked but it was no longer where Astrid had left it but Fishlegs could faintly hear something moving close by. His Hobblegrunt cries where definitely loud enough to be heard by the dragon so he knew at least that he would not take it by surprise but he was still a little nervous as to how it would react; Fishlegs did not have to wait long to find out.

A loud cry of warning roared out from only thirty feet away and Meatlug replied to in a 'Don't you try it' kind of way. The Hobblegrunt came forward and into view once again but even from the back, Astrid could see that it no longer held the pheasant; she smiled to herself as she realised that the other dragon must have consumed it already.

"Hey there" Fishlegs spoke softly as the bright red dragon eyed the young man with the Gronckle by his side "we have something for you."

The Hobblegrunt sniffed the air as Fishlegs held up one of the fish that Toothless had caught. Its neck began to turn purple again but it did not move in to receive the offering so Fishlegs tossed it up. He had to make a grab for Meatlugs collar when the Gronckle thought this was the start of a new game but the Hobblegrunt had no trouble snatching the fish out of the air; without waiting for a second, the dragon turned and rushed off back to where it had come from.

"Let's follow it" Astrid suggested and started to move closer before Fishlegs grabbed her arm.

"Wait... not yet" Fishlegs insisted as he took another fish from her.

They listened for a moment as the dragon move away from them; all was quiet for several seconds before they heard the sound of its return. The Hobblegrunt looked at the three expectantly but this time Fishlegs walked a little closer. The dragon let out a mighty roar straight into the young Vikings face so Fishlegs stopped and held out his second offering. When it became clear that he was not going to throw this one, the Hobblegrunt craned its neck and snatched the fish from the shivering Viking.

"Okay; now you can follow it" Fishlegs informed Astrid as he walked back "I err... just have to go and... clean up a bit."

Astrid looked a little surprised as Meatlug lifted off taking Fishlegs back to camp; he gave Hiccup a sign that all was well as he slowly disappeared toward the west.

"I'm going down" Hiccup called to Snotlout "keep an eye out from up here."

It was a tight fit for Toothless as the Hobblegrunt had wisely chosen to hide in a heavily wooded area.

"Slowly Toothless" Hiccup held back his dragon who wanted to run headlong into the undergrowth.

As the pair moved forward, they eventually came across Astrid standing several feet away from a pair of Hobblegrunts; the first was still glowing red with some purple around the neck while the other was a sickly grey with a few reddish pink blotches on its body and something man made protruding from its upper thigh. Astrid held out the third and last fish to the lowly growling dragon that took it, backed off a few paces and gave it to her injured friend.

"A spear" Hiccup shook his head.

"Close" Astrid replied "the soldiers in Elydonia called it a javelin."

"This dragon was attacked in Elydonia?" Hiccup asked in surprise.

"I don't think so; this weapon has a different design on the shaft so it could have come from anywhere."

"Hmm, being a leg wound, the dragon could have flown here from far away."

"I don't think it will be flying out in a hurry though" Astrid noted "it looks pretty weak now."

"Right then; let's see if the other one will let us help it."

"Okay but it's still a bit skittish so hang on to Toothless while I give it a try."

Moving slowly forward once more, Astrid cooed softly to the first dragon who glanced back to the Night Fury and its rider and then to the girl approaching it. The other dragons that the Hobblegrunt had seen today all seemed to trust these people and so, although it was still suspicious, it allowed the girl to approach. The food offerings had certainly helped and both Hiccup and Astrid could see from the increase of purple colouration on the dragon's skin that it was becoming more curious but they were not sure if it was wondering about them or looking for more fish.

Hiccup scratched the top of Toothless' neck in a successful attempt to get his dragon to purr happily in hope that it would placate the wild Hobblegrunts to an even greater degree.

"We're friends" Astrid reached out her hand but the dragon did not reciprocate instead it slowly reared back to lift its head high above the young lady.

"You're almost there" Hiccup whispered "I think it's just declaring dominance here."

Toothless took a few steps forward and drew the dragon's attention; he then bobbed his head a little to acknowledge his agreement that they were all there only at the Hobblegrunts discretion. The effect was almost instantaneous as the dragons colouring began to fade into yellow with some purple around the neck and shoulders. As it lowered its head once more, Astrid began to rub its neck and under its chin; she didn't know where the sweet spot was on a Hobblegrunt but she soon found it on the back of the dragon's neck at the top of its spine under the splayed crown.

"That's a good girl" she nodded "will you let us have a look at your friend now?"

The Hobblegrunt allowed them all to go back to the wounded male dragon; Hiccup approached its head speaking softly while Astrid had a closer look at the pierced thigh muscle.

"It's not bleeding much" she informed Hiccup "the javelins that I saw in Elydonia had long sharp points and no barbs so we should be able to remove it relatively easily but I assume that it lost a fair bit of blood earlier."

"That would explain why it's so weak now" he replied while stroking the wounded dragons chin "I wonder what cooked pheasant would do for a Hobblegrunt?"

"Well it wouldn't hurt, that's for sure. It's a pity we don't have any of Doc Olvors cleaning fluid with us."

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea to use that on a wild dragon" Hiccup suggested.

"Probably not... but I think we'd better clean the wound somehow as well as getting that javelin out."

"Yeah but not yet or it will start bleeding again."

Astrid thought for a moment and turned to Hiccup.

"If you're okay looking after these two for a while, I'll go and get some saltwater to clean the wound and something to pack it with... and there's something else that may help."

"Are you taking Toothless?" he asked.

"No; I'll call down Stormfly" she jumped up and kissed Hiccup on the cheek before rushing off.

"Good luck" he called after her.

"You're the one stuck with the moody mood dragons" she grinned as she left.

"I think I'll be okay" he smiled at the half sleeping Hobblegrunt with its head in his lap.

* * *

"**What are you doing here Moon?"**

"_**Isn't it obvious**_**?" the cat declared.**

"**Err no... are you looking for a good Bratwurst?"**

"_**What? Of course not... although... while we're here...**_**" he pondered.**

"**Then what is it?" I tried again.**

"_**I have come to 'Take Care' of your Fan Fiction friends and reviewers**_**."**

"**Ah... now what do you mean exactly when you say 'Take Care' of them?"**

"_**Well that depends on each individual; If they agree to stop reading your stories then all will be well but if not, THEIR COMPUTERS MUST BE DESTROYED! Ha ha ha ha ha**_**!"**

"**Why are you laughing like an Anime Villain and why on earth would you want to stop anyone from reading my stories?"**

"_**BECAUSE THEY'RE CRAP**_**!" Moon screamed with fury.**

"**The stories or the readers?"**

"_**THE STORIES YOU MORON**_**!"**

**I should have gotten a Goldfish.**


	7. Chapter 7

7 How to Win Friends and Influence Dragons

"This dragon sure is ugly" Dianta smiled at the face only a mother Hobblegrunt could love.

"Hey; she's not ugly" Fishlegs insisted "in fact she's a very fine example of a Hobblegrunt... and besides, not all dragons can be as good looking as a Gronckle."

Fishlegs was a little confused and very upset when the other Dragon Riders began to laugh at him but it was understandable as every one of them had a special soft spot for their own breed of dragon.

Just over an hour had passed since Astrid had left to get some supplies and the Dragon Riders were almost ready to remove the offending javelin from the male Hobblegrunts thigh. Ruffnut and Dianta had joined Hiccup in befriending and comforting the two dragons while Astrid and Fishlegs prepared for the upcoming procedure. Tuffnut and Snotlout had cleared some undergrowth away to make movement in the area a little easier because they all knew that the injured dragon would not be easy to move so it was decided to let it stay put for now.

For her part, the female Hobblegrunt could not help being confused; who were these strange people and dragons, where had they come from and why were they being so nice and helpful? It was truly a mystery to her because all of the people she had encountered in the past had either run away screaming or attacked her but she could not deny that her partner would probably have died if it had not been for these meddling kids. Fishlegs had spent a long time carefully cleaning the wound with salt water while Snotlout was cooking some pheasants on a nearby fire and now Astrid was delicately applying a paste made from the crushed flesh and juice of a succulent plant to the rough skin of the dragons leg.

"What's that stuff" Hiccup asked.

"It's something Olvor and Gothi used on your leg back when you carelessly misplaced it" Astrid smiled "it's supposed to numb the area and dull the pain but who knows if it will work on a dragon's thick skin."

"Well... it can hurt to try I guess."

"That's what I figured."

Another ten minutes later and the final preparations were complete; a sturdy rope had been wrapped and tied to the javelin shaft, a thick tree branch was given to the Hobblegrunt to bite down on and three young Vikings lay their bodies across the wounded leg to hold it firm and steady. Hiccup tied off the other end of the rope to Toothless' saddle harness and climbed on."

"Ready everyone?" he asked.

"READY" they all called back.

"Get on with it" mumbled an impatient Snotlout.

"Okay Bud... GO!" and Toothless leapt into the air.

The coiled rope began to unspool as Toothless shot straight up gaining speed with each beat of his wings. Everybody tensed themselves as the rope let out until with a loud 'Twang' it became taught and the javelin flew off into the sky. The leg twitched violently as the Hobblegrunt grimaced in pain, even biting the branch in its jaw completely in two but Snotlout and the twins held the leg firm and only a few seconds passed before everyone could see the relief on the dragons face; its partner whimpered a little throughout the whole process but was soon just as relieved as the injured one.

Fishlegs quickly re-cleaned the wound with salt water which defiantly stung a little before Astrid applied some pressure with a large pillow to help control the bleeding.

"Hey" Snotlout declared "that's MY pillow."

"And your contribution is greatly appreciated" Astrid smiled "I was gonna ask; who would bring such a big, soft pillow on a trip like this but under the circumstances, I'm glad you did,"

"Err... your welcome?" Snotlout was still a little disappointed at his enforced sacrifice.

The female Hobblegrunt sniffed at the leg and pillow while Astrid reached forward and rubbed her chin.

"Don't worry" she spoke softly "I think he's gonna be alright."

* * *

Dianta slowly turned the spit rod on which hung the last three pheasants roasting over the fire back at camp as the sun slowly moved towards the horizon and the Dragon Riders second night of camping approached. Fishlegs and Snotlout had just returned with a small net full of fish to feed to their dragons while the twins were out gathering more of the succulent plant for Astrid to apply to the Hobblegrunts leg when needed. Their patient had been very quiet for a long time and had even eaten the first two cooked pheasants that were given to it but after a few hours it had started scratching and biting at its wound and so they had applied the rest of the paste that Astrid had prepared earlier to the skin around the wound and that had fixed the problem but nobody knew how long it would last.

"Is dinner ready yet?" Tuffnut asked upon the twins return.

"Almost; shouldn't someone go and get Hiccup and Astrid?" Dianta asked.

"What... and spoil their little romantic interlude?" Ruffnut grinned.

"Keeping a nineteen foot long, eight hundred pound dragon from biting at its wounded leg while at the same time keeping its partner contented and under control" Fishlegs sneered "is not what you could call romantic?"

"What would you know about romance?" Ruffnut sneered back.

"I may not know much about romance, but I know what it's not" Fishlegs brought the sneering to a whole new level.

* * *

"I can hardly wait to see Dads face when we turn up with these two" Hiccup smiled.

"You won't get the chance" Astrid pointed out "we're going home via Elydonia; remember?"

"Oh yeah the wedding; I completely forgot in all the excitement."

"Well that fills me with confidence for our future together" Astrid smirked "I hope you don't forget about our wedding."

"Oh come on; we haven't even set a date yet and besides..."

"Besides what?"

"It was you who... oh no; I just realised that I was about to corner myself" Hiccup grinned sheepishly "so I think I'd better just back up and smile sweetly."

"Not gonna work; what were you going to say?"

"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that your dragon is bigger than mine and could sneak up behind me at any time... as could you."

"Hmm... this isn't over" she declared.

"I was kinda hoping it was" Hiccup mumbled.

A few minutes later, relief came to Hiccup in the form of Snotlout and Fishlegs with their dragons to take over for a short stint of Hobblegrunt care.

"How's Hoppy doing then?" Fishlegs asked.

"Hoppy; what kind of stupid name is that?" Snotlout put in his entry for sneer of the year.

"It's a lovely name" Fishlegs declared aloofly "and it suits him because of his injured leg."

"I hope that you NEVER considered that as a nickname for me" Hiccup declared.

"No need" Snotlout had that horrid grin again "between Hiccup, runt and fishbone you already had enough good names for me to choose from."

"I'm afraid that I have to agree with Snotlout on this one" Astrid nodded.

"WHAT?!"

"Not about you Hiccup; about Hoppy. He won't be like this forever so I think we should give him a name more related to one of his strengths."

"My thought exactly" Snotlout declared proudly "and that's why I think we should call him 'Ironjaw' because of the way he bit that branch in half when the spear..."

"Javelin."

"Whatever; when the thing got pulled out of his leg."

"Snotlout... that's amazing" Astrid declared stunned.

"Oh great" he said sarcastically "so what's wrong this time?"

"No... I mean... nothing; I think for the first time ever, you've actually come up with a good name for something."

"So what do you think we should name the female Hobblegrunt?" Hiccup asked.

"Honestly? Who cares" Snotlout grinned "to me she will always be the dragon that made Fishlegs wet his pants."

"I hate you" Fishlegs declared.

* * *

"The stars are lovely tonight" Astrid noted as she wiped the succulent plant juice from her hands.

Astrid and Hiccup had gone back to camp for dinner before returning to the glade to relieve Fishlegs and Snotlout on dragon sitting duty for the night; the young men had spent most of their time ignoring the two Hobblegrunts and were arguing long and loud about what they should name the female dragon. Astrid declared all their suggestions to be horrid, stupid or both and she sent them off saying that she would come up with something much better. Eventually, she settled on Redcrown because no matter how hard she tried, Astrid could not forget the first time she had set eyes on the Hobblegrunt and the imposing sight of that glowing fan on the top of its head and so when she had finished her last check of Ironjaw's leg, she and Hiccup settled down for the night.

"Ah! I know what I'm supposed to say now" Hiccup thought hard for the right words "Yes the stars are lovely but um... not as lovely... as err... the starlight in your eyes."

"Nice one Casanova but you can wipe that grin off your face" she laughed "it's not just the right words but it's also the delivery... and that was terrible."

"Well at least I'm trying" Hiccup pouted "and who's Casanova?"

"Oh you remember him, surely; thin little Viking with a thin little moustache, used to write all that mushy poetry."

"Aw yeah; what ever happened to him?"

"Called everyone a bunch of uncouth cretins and sailed off in search of someone who would appreciate his talent and artistry... or so he said."

"And you're comparing me to him?" Hiccup was surprised.

"Hey; he may have been weird for a Viking but some of the ladies swooned at his poetic recitations."

"Yeah I feel a bit off colour every time Gobber has a go at a poem too."

"Limericks don't count" Astrid declared.

Stepping around the fire, Astrid lay down next to Hiccup and gently placed her head on his shoulder as he leaned back against a lightly snoring Night Fury.

"This is nice" she snuggled in "all alone; just the two of us."

"And four dragons" he pointed out.

"Don't spoil the moment or I'll make you tell me what you were thinking about earlier before Lout and Legs showed up."

"You win."

"Naturally" she smiled "but I'm pretty sure that what you were going to say was since I was the one who proposed to you, then you didn't have to worry about keeping track of dates, organising the ceremony and stuff like that."

"Oh I wouldn't dare" Hiccup replied "that kind of talk would get me into big trouble."

"You better believe it."

"It's just as well I kept my mouth shut then."

"You can bet your good leg on that" Astrid snuggled in a little closer "let's not go back to Elydonia... or Berk; let's just stay here."

"You say that about every place we stop and camp" Hiccup reminded her.

"It is nice here though and nowhere near as cold as Berk."

"Not much in the way of bathroom facilities though."

"Well it's not as if Berk has a five star sanitation rating" Astrid pointed out.

"Ah... but it does have dragon powered water heating" Hiccup noted.

"True."

"How on earth did we get on to this subject?"

"Your fault."

"It always is" Hiccup sighed.

* * *

"**So the truth had come out at last Moon; you're not trying to take over the world but are trying to stop me from writing stories."**

"_**Crap stories."**_

"**And what would you want to do that for?"**

"_**Because of what all this writing has done to my happy home. I remember a time when I could sleep the day away safe in the knowledge that when you came home from work, we would eat our dinner and then you would sit down in front of the TV and watch a video or play Minecraft. I would climb up and sit on your chest and you would scratch my head or my chin BUT NOW IT'S WRITE, WRITE, WRITE AND I HAVE TO SIT ON THE FLOOR ALL BY MYSELF YOU BASTARD.**_

"**Aww the poor widdle kitty is jealous."**

"_**I should tear you a new one for that, you patronising swine."**_

**"Oooo... angry kitty!"**


	8. Chapter 8

**Great news; I've finished the re-write so I can now put all th chapters back up today (yay)**

* * *

8 What A Dragon Wants

The fire had extinguished itself many hours before but the warmth of the dragon's body was so comforting that even Astrids snoring could not keep Hiccup awake all night and exhaustion had eventually taken over just before midnight but early the next morning, a loud crash and a rustling in the trees above brought Hiccups broken sleep to an abrupt end in the pre-dawn light as he, Astrid, and their dragons, suddenly sat bolt upright.

"What... who..." was the best Astrid could come up with as they all looked around rapidly taking in the scene around them.

"There's a dragon up there" she peered into the sky "but I can't make out which one."

"It must be Ironjaw" Hiccup declared "because the other three are still here."

"Well a good night's rest certainly did him a world of good; still... we'd better make sure he's okay though."

In less than a minute, Toothless and Stormfly bore their riders skyward with Redcrown rising to follow them. Ironjaw's skin shone a bright yellow indicating his happiness at being able to fly once more although the wound on his leg still had a nasty look about it. All four dragons chirped and roared in greeting to each other and the dawn as they rose, spun and dived in joyous play high above the earth before levelling off above the clouds.

"Good to know he can fly again" Hiccup called out.

"Yeah; I just hope he doesn't do anything bad to his leg when he comes into land" Astrid nodded.

Redcrown and Ironjaw seemed to have settled down somewhat from their playful antics and were now flying away from the rising sun and out over the ocean with purpose in their eyes.

"Do you get the feeling that they're taking us somewhere?" Astrid asked.

"Not only do I agree with you but I think that's where we are headed" Hiccup pointed to a low island that was just coming into view on the horizon.

"Err... Hiccup" Astrid brought his attention to the fact that both the Hobblegrunts had once again turned a very bright red.

"We haven't done anything to make them angry" Hiccup declared "have we?"

"I don't think so but our dragons don't seem worried at all so they can't be mad at us."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough" Hiccup replied as the four dragons went into a long and shallow dive towards the island.

Although no one from Berk had ever set foot there before, Hiccup had a strong feeling of Déjà vu as the Hobblegrunts led them to the western side of the island where they found a large tidal flat covered in rock pools. Ironjaw tried his best not to put too much weight on his bad leg as he came into land but he still fell over. Astrid leapt off Stormfly and ran to him; she could see some blood running down his thigh again.

"You are a silly dragon" she scolded him as she cupped her hands into the nearest rock pool and poured the salt water onto the wound.

Astrid stood up as Hiccup approached and tore the left sleeve from his shirt.

"HEY!" he protested as Astrid washed the sleeve out in the rock pool and wiped around Ironjaw's wound "why is it always my shirt?"

"Stop whining Hiccup; I promise I'll let you tear mine off when we're married."

"I'll remember you said that" he smiled.

"I'm counting on it" she replied while raising her eyebrows repeatedly.

Hiccup would liked to have kept on flirting but Redcrown had other ideas as she pushed her chin into his back until he was over by one of the other rock pools; looking down into the water, he noticed something else that was very familiar.

"OH!" he realised and jumped into the pool.

As soon as Hiccup had resurfaced, he placed the eggshells he had retrieved on the rocks and went down for more. Within a few minutes he had picked up every last piece and had begun to sort them all out while Astrid went on a little scouting mission.

"There's four eggs here" he informed Astrid upon her return.

"That fits in with the small Hobblegrunt tracks I found up on the rise" she replied "but it's what I found on the other side of the island that worries me."

"Signs of boat landings?"

"Very good" Astrid nodded "how did you work that out?"

"Ironjaw was not willing to wait another day to get back here and the first thing that Redcrown wanted us to see was this pool with the dragon eggshells in it so my guess is that someone has taken their young and they hope we can help to get them back."

"There's hope for you yet" Astrid smiled "judging by the size of the tracks and taking into account that a fully grown Hobblegrunt is just a little smaller than a Nadder, then those eggs must have hatched around the same time as Stormfly's; last Snoggletog."

"So these two dragons find this place which is very similar to the island where they normally hatch their young" Hiccup surmised "and they stay to raise their little ones but then people arrive, drive off the adult dragons and capture the four little ones."

"Or kill them."

"I didn't want to contemplate that possibility but... yes" Hiccup agreed.

"Right then; I'd guess that they have at least two, possibly three days head start on us so if you want to go get the others, I'll look around here for any more clues as to who they are and where they're from."

"Pity they're not from Elydonia" Hiccup remembered the different markings on the javelin "or we could have gotten a Royal Decree from Joric to have the dragons released."

"True" Astrid nodded "hurry back babe."

* * *

Astrid made the most of her time alone on the island looking at every trampled plant and following every footprint although her search would have been much easier if the Hobblegrunts were as well trained as Stormfly. The Nadder sat peacefully at the high point of the small island where Astrid had ordered her to stay but the purple Hobblegrunts followed her everywhere sticking their noses as well as their big feet into anything and everything and so it was amazing that Astrid could glean as much information as she did from the signs of brief human habitation. As soon as she was finished, she started on something that needed to be done yesterday but couldn't due to lack of time and Ironjaw's leg; flight training.

Taking a short rope from her saddlebag, Astrid made her way alongside Redcrowns side while rubbing her neck and speaking low.

"There's a good girl; it's just a little rope" she tied a loop around the place where the dragons neck met its body.

"Well... here we go" she said to herself and climbed up onto the Hobblegrunts back.

To say that Redcrown was surprised would have been a massive understatement and Astrid soon found herself flat on her back in the sand as Stormfly leapt to her rescue; it took half a minute for Astrid to calm both the dragons down and stop all the roaring before she could try again. She decided to try a little demonstration this time for although both the Hobblegrunts had seen dragons with riders on them over the last few days, the reality of it was still very alien to them but at least Redcrown had experienced what it was like to have a rider on her back now - even if it was only for a few seconds. As soon as everyone was calm again, Astrid went over to Stormfly and climbed into the saddle. She leant forward and rubbed the dragon's neck causing her to chirrup with delight while the other two looked on.

"See... nothing to be worried about" Astrid smiled at Redcrown and slid off onto the ground once more.

Walking back to the nervous Hobblegrunt, she placed her hands underneath its chin and rubbed it gently.

"Ready to try again girl?" Astrid asked as she made her way back and did indeed, try again.

Redcrown tensed herself, twitched a little and even turned somewhat red but as soon as she had taken a few breaths and felt Astrid rubbing her neck again, she began to calm down. It still felt like a form of attack to the still wild dragon and it took Astrid another few minutes of quiet talk and neck rubbing but eventually the Hobblegrunt began to turn purple with a little yellow on her tail.

"That's a good girl" Astrid was pleased "now let's go for a little walk."

* * *

"Hey look at Astrid" Ruffnut smiled with delight upon seeing Redcrown walking across the island with a rider on her back for the first time.

"Well done" Hiccup noted upon his return with the rest of the Dragon Riders "what have you found of interest?"

"There were at least a dozen people here although it was probably more than twenty" Astrid informed them all as they stood around the rock pools "and based on the direction you all came from, they most likely went north after leaving here."

"Now hang on a minute" Tuffnut interjected "how on earth can you tell which way they went by looking at the way we came from?"

"I have to go along with Tuff there Astrid" Hiccup agreed "I trust your conclusion but I'll go nuts if you don't tell us how you came to it."

"Oh Hiccup" she shook her head "and you were doing so well for a while."

"I think I know" Fishlegs offered "Ironjaw and Redcrown may have been held back by the attackers here while their young were taken because of the number of people but they would have followed the ship afterwards; I assume you found two sets of adult Hobblegrunt tracks?"

"I hope you're paying attention to this Hiccup" Astrid grinned.

"So if Ironjaw still had two healthy legs when he was here" Fishlegs continued "then we must conclude that he was struck with the javelin after the people departed; while they were at sea."

"Ah... of course" Hiccup realised "and after being hit, the Hobblegrunts would have made straight for land where we found them east and slightly north of here."

"So the ship was headed up the coast to the north" Astrid finished off "exactly right."

"I would have worked it out eventually" Hiccup excused himself "but I knew we were short on time."

"Really?" Snotlout crossed his arms and looked at Hiccup suspiciously.

"Hey; that's my story and I'm sticking to it" Hiccup pouted.

"You" Astrid kissed his cheek "are getting more like your father every day."

"Oh don't say that" Hiccup slouched as the others laughed.

* * *

"**So tell me Moon; how do expect to find the nice people who read my stories? I don't know where they are."**

"_**I knew you were a fool but seriously; couldn't you work it out? Some of them let you know what country they're in."**_

"**And that is why you came to Germany?" I asked surprised.**

"_**Precisely; and from here I will travel all around Europe and the U.K. before finishing in Sweden."**_

"**Okay... but err... you do know that the U.K. is part of Europe too, don't you?"**

"_**Whatever; from Sweden it's off to the Americas starting in Canadia..."**_

"**Canada."**

"_**WHATEVER; and then down through the U.S.A. to Central and South America before it's off to Asia."**_

"**Oh come on Moon; it would take way longer than your little kitty life span just to find someone in Germany who has read my stories; especially if you're just going to go from door to door asking them."**

"_**Of course it won't; over two hundred people have read your stories so they should be easy to find."**_

"**But there are over Eighty Two Million people in Germany and over Seven Billion in the world."**

"_**What?"**_** replied the stunned puss "**_**You lie**_**."**

"**Nope; it's true."**

**There is nothing sadder than a megalomaniac cat whose hopes have just been dashed.**


	9. Chapter 9

9 Seek And You Will Have Sought

"Time for you to fly solo" Astrid grinned at Dianta.

"WHAT... are you sure?" the young girl replied as she sat nervously alone on Stormfly's back "I didn't grow up with dragons like you."

"Of course I'm sure and fighting dragons is not the same as growing up with them; also we all flew solo on our first day as Dragon Riders."

"But this is hardly the time for you to go off on a romantic flight with Hiccup" Dianta protested.

"Yes it is" Hiccup interjected.

"No it's not" Astrid smiled "I'll be riding Redcrown because she needs more training before we catch up with whoever took her little brood."

"Are you sure about this?" Hiccup asked concerned.

"Pretty much but we'll soon find out" Astrid replied "just be ready to catch me if it turns out that I'm wrong."

"WHAT ABOUT ME?!" Dianta cried out concerned about flying alone for the first time; and over water.

"Oh Stormfly won't drop you" Astrid smiled "unless you're planning to jump."

Dianta was not happy about being the current butt of the joke but her situation was not about to improve in a hurry.

"And try not to throw up" Ruffnut called out.

"You're never gonna let me live that down are you?" Dianta huffed.

"But if you do feel sick, make sure you're flying above Hiccup" Snotlout snickered.

"You're not gonna let me live That down either are you?" Hiccup snorted.

"Now just hold on to the saddle and remember to lean into the turns" Astrid informed her "don't worry about directing her; Stormfly will follow me."

"Well... okay if think wwaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Dianta cried out as Stormfly lifted off; it all felt very different without another rider to hold on to.

Toothless and Hookfang took to the skies and circled slowly around Redcrown while Astrid encouraged the dragon.

"See, look up there" she pointed "they're doing it and so can you."

Astrid smiled as the Hobblegrunt spread her wings and took a few steps forward before lifting off into the air and following the other dragons in a widely growing arc.

"You're doing fine" Astrid called out to Dianta "just try sitting up and lean with the dragon."

Soon the screaming had stopped but the wide eyes and short gasping breath remained as Ironjaw and the last of the Dragon Riders joined the journey east but as soon as the coast was in sight, the dragons all turned north.

"Try not to stay so stiff and tense" Astrid tried to encourage Dianta "watch this."

Sitting up straight on Redcrowns back, Astrid lifted her arms and held them out to the side. At first Dianta thought she could try that if she relaxed a little but then Astrid began tipping herself to the left. Dianta thought that her mentor was about to fall off but instead Astrid just sat up again before tipping to the right.

"Don't look at me; look at the dragon" Astrid called out.

It took several more dips to the left and to the right but eventually Dianta saw it; without any other input from Astrid apart from her shifting balance, Redcrowns wings were lifting and dropping ever so slightly to counteract the rider's movement and keep herself level and true.

"It works the in the other direction too" Astrid informed her as she began to lean forward and back again.

With each change in forward balance, Dianta could see the Hobblegrunts wing tips move forward so delicately, that she was sure that she would never have noticed if it had not been pointed out.

"If you make any slight movements it won't throw you off balance because as the rider, you become an extension of the dragon itself and you'll find flying much easier if you can only try to stay loose and also you're muscles won't hurt so much the next day. "

Watching Astrid glide along on Redcrowns back, eyes shut and arms out wide without reigns or saddle, reminded Dianta of the first time she had set eyes on the young lady with the iron shoulder pads and spike studded skirt. It had been late one night in the farmhouse kitchen and her parents had been discussing a possible move to Berk with a large Viking. Dianta and her little brother Rowland were meant to be in bed asleep but they could not resist listening at the passage door to the wonderful tales of dragons and adventure that were drifting from the kitchen table. All of a sudden there was a knock at the door and a new voice was heard from this amazing young woman who proceeded to successfully argue with Dianta's mother about dragons before exposing the hiding children; she even gave new orders to the adult men before rushing outside and leaping onto the most impressive looking creature Dianta and her brother had ever seen. As Astrid had flown off into the night Dianta had set herself the goal to join the Dragon Riders and become just like her new heroin and now here she was flying on that very same dragon and scared stiff; and that was not right.

"Hey Astrid" Fishlegs softly called.

Opening her eyes, Astrid saw Fishlegs drawing her attention to Stormfly where the young girl from Elydonia had spread out her arms just as she had been shown. As she watched, Astrid noted how the stiffness in Dianta's body eventually began to turn into a more fluid motion as she let the dragon keep her in balance rather than do all the work herself.

"Now you're getting warm" Astrid smiled.

* * *

"Suspicious looking vessel to the right" Tuffnut informed the group some time later.

"Well spotted Tuff" Hiccup nodded as the riders all turned their dragons in a wide circle

The ship Tuffnut had seen was moored in a small fishing village on the southwest coast of New Loren and because everyone else had been scanning the open ocean for the most likely ship, none of them had noticed this one tied up at the wharf surrounded by small fishing boats. Hiccup studied the scene for half a minute before coming up with the start of a plan.

"Okay everyone; we need to find out if this ship is the one we're looking for so we'll set down as close as we can without being seen and then do a little bit of espionage and see what we can learn."

"Who's gonna stay with the dragons?" Snotlout asked.

"Any volunteers?" Hiccup asked.

There was a brief silence till Fishlegs resigned himself.

"I'll do it if no one else wants to."

"Thanks Legs" Hiccup nodded as the dragons flew down into what appeared to be an old quarry not far from the village.

Ironjaw seemed to have learnt his lesson after the rough landing he suffered on the island as he came in as slowly as he could manage before dropping most of his weight onto his good leg.

"I know how you feel" Hiccup sympathised with the dragon.

"It looks like they still use this place" Snotlout noticed as he looked around.

"True but the high sides give great cover and we shouldn't be here long" Hiccup pointed out "time to de-Viking yourselves; helmets off everyone."

With Fishlegs settling the dragons, the riders started off on the road out of the quarry when Astrid ran into a little trouble.

"You seem to have made a friend for life" Ruffnut chuckled as Redcrown followed her new friend closely.

No amount of coaxing could get the Hobblegrunt to stay put and so some alterations had to be made to the task roster.

"Looks like you'll be indulging in a little dragon sitting today" Fishlegs grinned.

"Fair enough" Astrid sighed "but I want you and Snotlout to give Dianta a good lesson in intelligence gathering; Hiccup will have his hands full keeping the twins out of trouble."

"You can count on us" Snotlout grinned "well… me anyway."

"Hey!" Fishlegs sneered.

"Joke Legs; joke" Snotlout laughed but Fishlegs did not feel like joining him "oh lighten up grumpy."

"Good luck" Astrid smiled at Hiccup "and don't look so forlorn; I'm sure they'll all behave in town."

"I wish I had your confidence" Hiccup moped.

* * *

To call it a town was an incredible overstatement as the small hamlet appeared to exist only as a place to moor the fishing boats during the warmer months and appeared to be the kind of place that was abandoned for three or four months every year during the harsh winter.

"I'll take the main street if you guys wanna check out the dock" Hiccup suggested.

"Back here in fifteen?" Snotlout asked.

"If takes that long" Hiccup smiled "this place is tiny."

The small group of mainly Berkians split up before they reached the edge of town and encountered the first of the curious stares from the locals.

"Are we going to the big ship?" Dianta asked.

"Eventually" Snotlout informed her "but we'll see what we can find out elsewhere first."

"You see Dianta, the real trick to getting people to tell you what you need to know" Fishlegs pointed out "is to make them think that you already know what they are about to reveal."

"How do you get them to think that?" she asked.

"Watch and learn" Snotlout grinned "and try not to look so suspicious."

"How?"

"I don't know… walk casual."

* * *

"Hey there" Tuffnut greeted a man and a woman repairing a fishing net.

"Good day to you" the man looked at them with a little suspicion in his eyes "so where are you young people from then?"

"Oh way to the northeast of here" Hiccup lied "we decided to take a little detour from our journey south to come and see where those weird creatures came from."

"They didn't come from here" the lady had definite fear in her voice "and those men have nothing to do with us."

"To tell you the truth I'll be glad to see the back of those idiots and their ship" the man added.

* * *

Down on the dock, Snotlout was about to employ a similar tactic when his nose gave him a big clue as to what had been going on.

"You smell that?" Fishlegs asked in a low voice.

"It's hard to miss it; well now we know why the ship stopped here; Astrid said there were four young Hobblegrunts didn't she."

"Yup; that's right" Fishlegs nodded.

"I can't smell anything over the burnt wood" Dianta said confused.

"Exactly" Snotlout grinned as he strode up to one of the small fishing boats.

"So that's the ship where all the excitement happened" he commented to the old man sorting his catch while looking at the larger vessel.

"That's the one young feller" the fisherman replied "it seems to me that those men bit off more than they could chew."

"You mean with the fire?"

"Yup" the old man smiled "those traders never learn but... I suppose they do make more money than I do at fishing."

"Are those... you know... weird creatures still around?"

"I hope not; if they could do that much damage to the wet wood of a ship, imagine what they'd do to the buildings here."

"You not wrong there" Snotlout smiled and nodded.

The Dragon Riders walked on casually toward the ship and were greeted by the incredible sight of animals on the dock like they'd never seen before and they all had pet dragons. There were two large brown ugly horse like creatures each with a large hump on its back, a tortoise that was almost as big as Meatlug as well as a large cage in which a large spotted cat paced back and forth.

"Will you look at all this" Snotlout whistled "we have got to get out more."

"Amazing" Fishlegs agreed.

Sounds of construction greeted them all as they approached the gangway.

"AHOY! PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD?" Snotlout shouted.

A sweat covered man with a mallet and chisel in his hands approached the side of the ship and looked down at the people below him.

"Whadayawant?" the man shouted down at them.

"I want to come aboard and talk" Snotlout replied.

"What about?"

"Are you sure you want me to tell it to the world?" Snotlout looked up at the man with a knowing grin.

The young Vikings suspicions proved to be correct as the man looked to the left and then to the right before signalling them to come aboard.

"Someone's feeling a little guilty" Fishlegs whispered as they started up the gangway towards a scene of organised chaos.

* * *

"_**IF THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THEN WHY ARE THERE SO FEW WHERE WE LIVE?" **_**Moon demanded.**

"**I know Adelaide is a small city but there are still over a million people in it."**

"_**You lie; I haven't seen all these people when I have roamed around the streets at night."**_

"**Of course not; at that time they're mostly all asleep in their homes."**

"_**What can I do now?"**_

"**Come home Moon and I promise not to write so much anymore and to spend more time rubbing your tummy; okay?"**

"_**Can I have some of the shredded chicken with cheddar flavoured cat food?"**_

"**Yes Moon."**

"_**Can I kill the dogs next door?"**_

"**No Moon."**

"_**Pleeeeease?"**_

"**Well... maybe... if you're good."**


	10. Chapter 10

10 I'm From Berk And I'm Here To Help

The deck of the ship was a hive of activity as the men there worked on repairing the damaged ship. A large pile of half burnt timber near the bow was steadily growing as more and more was cut out from decks, gunwales and superstructure while carpenters and shipwrights worked in a furious manner to get every piece replaced as soon as they could.

"Well...whadayawant?" the man asked again.

"It's about the creatures that did... all this" Snotlout gestured all about him.

"Whataboutem?"

"I understand you have six of them and we would be very interested in purchasing one or two."

As expected, the man began to laugh at the three young people.

"I don't know where you get your information from but we only got the four small ones and when I say small, there're still bigger than your little friend here" he pointed to Dianta.

"Okay then so you've got four" Snotlout ignored the man's rudeness "that means we can still do business."

"Look son" the man sighed "I'd like nothing better than to make up for some of the losses we've suffered here; especially since all the penguins got away..."

"What's a penguin?" Dianta blurted out.

"Small bird; can't fly but great swimmers... unfortunately but as I was saying, those creatures are gone."

"Gone where exactly" Snotlout asked.

"Never you mind. We've got a standing order from some very important people who like us to bring them the first examples of anything new that we find and I do believe that they'll pay us much more than the likes of you could even dream of; I could let you have a camel for a good price though."

"Is that the spotted cat or the one with the hairy lump?" Fishlegs asked.

"Who cares; just tell us what you did with the... fire beasts" Snotlout fumed while trying to avoid using the word dragon.

"Why should I tell you where we sent them?"

"You should tell me because I'm asking nicely" Snotlout made fists and flexed his muscles.

The man bent over till he was looking at Snotlout nose to nose.

"Nick off... sunshine... before something nasty happens.

* * *

"Those people were nice and helpful" Ruffnut noted.

"They were scared; it makes me wonder what happened here when that ship pulled in with the young Hobblegrunts onboard" Hiccup pondered.

"Pity they didn't know much" Tuffnut sighed.

"They knew enough" Hiccup grinned.

It was now mid morning; Hiccup and the twins had only been back at the meeting place for a few minutes when the other three Dragon Riders came into view.

"Oh no" Hiccup sighed as soon as he saw that they were running as fast as they could.

The man with the bleeding nose who was in pursuit shook the chisel in his left fist at the fleeing group while he threw the mallet in his right hand straight at the back of Snotlouts head; fortunately it fell a few feet short as it would have done considerable damage to the young helmetless Viking.

"What did you do this time?" Hiccup asked as all six left the town at high speed.

"It was... his fault..." Snotlout puffed as he ran "he said... something nasty... was going... to happen... and it... did."

Their pursuer gave up just outside of town and turned back nursing his bleeding face and bruised ego but Snotlout didn't stop running for another quarter of a mile; just to be sure.

* * *

"So what did you find out? Astrid asked of her returning friends.

"That you can only push Snotlout so far" Fishlegs snickered.

"Okay... I'll rephrase that; what did you find out that is useful?"

"They do have four Hobblegrunts" Snotlout sneered at Fishlegs "and they are planning to sell them to some people who like rare animals; that's as far as we got."

"Well that's actually great news" Hiccup smiled "because the people we spoke to didn't know any of that but... they did give us a direction to go in."

* * *

High over the southern lands of New Loren, seven dragons followed the winding road east for twenty five minutes until they spotted the expected fork that the fisherman's wife had told them about after which they banked to the north.

"When we spot them, Astrid will fly Redcrown around in a wide arc" Hiccup informed the riders "if either of the Hobblegrunts notice their children are up ahead there'll be no stopping them."

"Right; I'll take Stormfly and Dianta with me" Astrid agreed.

"So what will we do; attack?" Tuffnut asked with glee.

"You are such a child" Snotlout shook his head.

"We only attack if..." Hiccup never got to finish his sentence.

"THREE WAGONS... a few miles ahead" Fishlegs called out.

"Right; off you go Astrid."

"This won't work you know" she told Hiccup.

"We have to try" he replied "we can't just use our dragons to force people into doing what we tell them too."

"See you soon" Astrid smiled and blew him a kiss "Stormfly; Follow."

With her dragon close behind and Ironjaw following his mate, Astrid led the three dragons away from the main force and was soon just a dot in the distance. As the others flew by the wagons at an altitude higher than the clouds Fishlegs noticed a near perfect place.

"Look over there Hiccup" he pointed "bends in the road and a slight rise."

"Just what we need" Hiccup smiled.

* * *

Hiccup checked the direction of the breeze as soon as they had all landed and moved the dragons upwind from the road so the Hobblegrunts would hopefully not notice their young were close by too soon because as untrained dragons he could not be sure exactly how they would react. Astrid's team arrived another two minutes later after taking the long way round and so the trap was almost ready.

"The wagons are only about a mile back so we've only got a few minutes" Hiccup informed the riders "Fishlegs and Dianta will keep the Hobblegrunts low and quiet while Astrid and I head for the road. Snotlout and the twins will... well... you may have to make it up as you go along depending on what the men on the wagons decide to do."

"You know you can depend on me" Snotlout gave his cocky grin.

"Just don't move too soon; give Astrid enough time to get her job done."

"You got it" Snotlout nodded.

"Okay then" Hiccup smiled at them all "let's be off."

* * *

"Well... here we go again" Hiccup remarked; he reached for Astrid's hand as they wandered back along the road they had just flown over.

He could not help but wonder if the beating he could feel in his heart was caused by the anticipation of the confrontation ahead or from the touch of her hand in his. Probably a little of both he thought to himself as they walked but his heat rate did increase a little more when she smiled at him.

"Could you do me a small favour?" she asked.

Looking down, Hiccup noticed that in her other hand she was holding out to him her knife and stone.

"No problem" he smiled back as he took them from her and began to hone the edge of the blade.

"Just a few inches near the hilt" Astrid informed him "I want to make sure that I get the cuts just right."

They walked in silence for a few minutes while Hiccup concentrated on creating an edge that his father could shave with and Astrid took note of every rock, plant, rise and hollow along both sides of the road.

"Thanks" she smiled again when he handed back her tools.

"Anything for you Milady" he kissed the back of her hand.

The sound of horses and rumbling wagons drifted along in the air less than a minute later and so Hiccup knew that the time had come for them to go their separate ways.

"You'd better disappe... oh" Hiccup soon realised that he was talking to himself.

* * *

"HI THERE" Hiccup waved at the wagon driver and his companion riding at the front.

From where he stood on the side of the road, it appeared to Hiccup that the first wagon held only supplies and four men in total so he assumed that the dragons must be in the other two following behind; the burn marks on the last two wagons confirmed his suspicions.

"GO AWAY" the driver shouted at the strange boy on the road who appeared to be planning to join them.

"Oh don't say that" Hiccup grinned as he climbed up beside the two men riding up front and much to their surprise, sat down beside them.

The passenger got ready to throw the presumptuous boy off but stopped short as soon as he heard what the one legged boy said next.

"If I go away then how can I tell you all about the creatures you've got tied up in the other two wagons and how can I tell you about all the trouble you're in?"

The two men in the back of the wagon had made their way forward and one of them was about to make a grab for Hiccup, who didn't seem to care at all, when the confused looking driver dropped one hand off the reigns and held it up to signal the man in the back to stop.

"What do you know about the err... animals we've got?" he asked suspiciously.

"A lot more than you do" Hiccup replied sternly "and I implore you to let them go."

"You're lying; you can't possibly know what we've got?"

"You'd be surprised what I know and here's just the start; you've come a long way from 'I don't know where' but several days ago you stopped off on a small island to the southwest, maybe for water but who cares. On that island you found these creatures that were a little yellowish maybe but they turned a bit purple when they saw you."

"Uncanny" one of the men in the back remarked gobsmacked.

"Oh the best is yet to come" Hiccup almost laughed "I dare say you were surprised to see that these huge lizard like creatures with the massive under bite had wings and so you said to yourselves 'Ho ho ho; we should get a fine price for these beauties' and you decided to catch them although one thing I don't know is were the two big ones there as well or was it just the four that you've got here?"

"It was just these ones" a man in the back replied and got a slap on the back of the head from his friend for his trouble.

While this conversation was going on, Astrid had sprung up from nowhere behind the last wagon. She took a quick look over the backboard and was pleased to see that the attention of the two men up front, who were the only ones on this wagon, was firmly drawn to Hiccup sitting in the first wagon.

"What's going on up there?" the driver asked as Astrid climbed in back and slipped under the tarp that covered two of the Hobblegrunts.

"How on earth should I know" his companion replied as the hidden girl drew her knife.

It was obvious to anyone, especially to an expert like Astrid, that the dragons lying in the back of the wagon had both exhausted themselves trying to break free of their bonds so she just had to hope that they still had enough fight left in them to try again when the right time came. Slowly and delicately the young girl sliced her blade deep into the ropes in various places taking care not to go too far so that the dragons would still believe themselves to be securely bound but far enough so that the ropes would break easily under any pressure.

"Ah... right then" Hiccup continued "so you trapped the four creatures on the island and it would have been about this time that they turned very red and you would have found out what they really were."

"Dragons" the man in the back noted and received another slap in the head.

"Dragons yes" Hiccup informed them "but to be more precise... Hobblegrunts or as some would call them, Mood Dragons but that's just a nickname. They're a dragon from the Stoker class, although one of my friends thinks they should be in the Boulder class, and trying to keep them captive is a very bad idea as you all found out on your voyage back; I assume that you originally had no intention of stopping off at that little fishing port but were finding it more and more difficult to keep your ship from burning to the waterline."

"This is truly uncanny" the man in the back noted.

"Yes... so you've said" Hiccup continued "so how long was it before Mummy and Daddy found you."

"SHUT UP" the driver pointed to the man who had been providing Hiccup with the most information.

Astrid meanwhile had slipped back out of the wagon and discovered two things; the first was that the wagons had now passed by the place where the other dragons were hidden about two hundred feet from the side of the road and the second was that there was no way for her to get to the middle wagon without being seen so she would have to leave the other two Hobblegrunts for now and just hope she could get to them later in all the confusion. Having no better choice available to her, Astrid ran back to get Toothless; all had gone well so far giving her high hopes for the rest of the plan.

* * *

"Time to go" Astrid called out to Snotlout as she ran towards him and the twins.

As the Nightmare and Zippleback lifted off Astrid hurried back to where Fishlegs and Dianta were keeping the adult Hobblegrunts quiet.

"Are we still staying here?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yup" Astrid replied as she climbed onto Toothless "but only as long as there is no sign of fire."

"Understood" he nodded.

"And stay off Stormfly" Astrid warned Dianta "I may need her in a hurry."

"Understood" Dianta replied "Looks like I'll have to go with you Fishlegs."

"Umm... or you could always wait here... oh don't look at me like that."

Fishlegs soon discovered that puppy dog eyes always win out as Dianta climbed onto Meatlugs back behind him.

* * *

**For those who wondered; Moon wasn't a good kitty when he got home so the dogs next door are safe.**


	11. Chapter 11

11 It's Nice To Have The Family Together For Snoggletog

"...and then you had to either buy or hire these wagons so that you could have a try at getting the dragons home by road because if the wagons catch fire at least you won't drown" Hiccup concluded "does that about sum everything up."

"Actually the people in the fishing village were more than willing to let... us... borrow..." the talkative man in the back of the wagon suddenly realised that the man driving was giving him a very dirty look indeed "sorry boss."

"Hey don't be upset" Hiccup reassured him "after all; the dragons sure had those people back in the village spooked so I should have suspected that they'd happily give up a few wagons just to see the back of you. One thing you don't seem to understand though is that dragons are not like other animals so you can't just treat them like other animals; you must respect them and they will return loyalty with loyalty."

"How do you know all this?" the wagon driver asked.

"Back at home" Hiccup puffed out his chest (it didn't move much) "they call me... The Dragon Master; tah dah."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me" the driver chuckled.

"You should meet this friend of mine named Snotlout; he talks just like you."

"Err... boss" the man sitting next to Hiccup brought the drivers attention to the fact that a pretty young blonde girl was standing on the side of the road a hundred and fifty yards ahead smiling and waving at them.

"What the... another one? I assume she's a friend of yours" the driver huffed.

"Oh yes we're very close" Hiccup informed them "but she's there as a warning."

"A warning?"

"Yes; don't drive passed her or else."

"Or else what exactly?"

"You may remember that I said that you were in trouble... well... there she is."

The wagon driver looked at Hiccup as if he was quite mad but his uncanny knowledge about the dragons and the men's movements certainly had everyone worried.

"So what do YOU think we should do then?" the driver asked.

"Stop the wagons and let me take the dragons, hey... that rhymes, and then you can go back to your ship. I'll even come and help you repair it; I'm a blacksmiths apprentice you know."

"I thought you were The Mighty Dragon Master."

"Hmm... 'Mighty Dragon Master'... that has a nice ring to it" Hiccup pondered.

"And if I refuse to give you the dragons?"

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice; you see... we could have just attacked you and taken them but I don't really know who you are and so I thought I should at least give you the chance to hear the truth about the dragons and see reason."

The driver didn't know if he should be angry, scared or just laugh at the strange young man.

"I have to ask" he said at last "why are you on their side?"

"Well... the parents asked us for help to get their children back."

The other three men were now very worried but the driver just laughed.

"You talk to dragons?" he chuckled.

"Yes... but they don't talk back" Hiccup smirked.

The wagons had reached the spot where Astrid stood by the side of the road and to everyones surprise, she curtsied.

"So... err..." the driver looked back at Astrid in utter confusion as they passed by before he came to his senses "how did they ask for help if you can't talk with them... hmm smartypants?"

"They took us to the island and showed us what you'd done."

This really surprised everyone but they were not ready to believe it to be true.

"Hey Babe" Astrid had run after the wagon and leapt up onto the side step "they didn't stop."

"No they didn't" Hiccup admitted.

"I told you they wouldn't."

"Yes... yes you did."

"So then... plan B?"

Hiccup turned back to the wagon driver "Last chance."

Frustration and anger began to show in the leaders face. He was sure that this young man and his friend were bluffing so there was no way that he was going to hand over such valuable creatures to them but no matter how hard he tried, the man simply could not come up with any explanation for the knowledge that Hiccup had shown about him and the dragons and he was not about to accept that the explanation he had just been given could be even remotely true. In the end it all became too much for him.

"WHOOOOAAAARRGGH" Hiccup cried as the driver leant over and pushed him out of the seat.

"HEY?" Astrid fumed.

She jumped off the side step and ran to help Hiccup back onto his feet... err... foot. Toothless had already jumped up from the place where Astrid had hidden him as soon as he had seen his best friend fall to the ground.

"Time to move" Snotlout called out to the twins.

Toothless and his two riders lifted off the ground as Hookfang, Barf and Belch swooped down from their high position behind the wagons to flank the Night Fury.

"Err... boss" One of the men tapped the driver on the shoulder who turned around just in time to see the three dragons approaching very fast although there was no way he would have missed their presence as Hookfang gave out a mighty roar that spooked the horses pulling the wagons and the chase was on.

As soon as the wagons began to pick up speed, the Hobblegrunts inside started to struggle once more. The two in the centre wagon were still bound tightly but those in the rear soon broke their weakened bonds and struggled to free themselves from the tangle of cut rope and tarp.

"They need someone to go too" Hiccup realised and he turned Toothless back in the direction of Fishlegs and sent off a quick plasma shot.

"Looks like the fun has started" Fishlegs noted as the blue fireball exploded overhead.

Leaping onto Meatlug with Dianta close behind him, Fishlegs called for Stormfly to follow him and with the Hobblegrunts not willing to leave their new friends, he was soon leading all four dragons into the fray. Barf, Belch and the twins flew on ahead to create a fire wall across the road in the hope that it may stop the runaway horses but when they came near to it, they all simply veered off the road and began running in different directions through the high grass. Several men jumped off or fell from the bouncing wagons as the two free Hobblegrunts finally managed to untangle themselves and take to the air screeching in panic. Redcrown and Ironjaw heard the cries and immediately turned towards them while picking up speed.

"Get me to Stormfly" Astrid requested.

The Night Fury banked around behind Meatlug before taking up a position above the Deadly Nadder. As soon as Astrid had dropped down into her saddle, she turned the mighty dragon in a sweeping arc back to the wagon with the last of the captive Hobblegrunts while Hiccup went to the aid of the other two who were now being pursued by some of the men planning to recapture them. With the speed and all the bouncing of the wagon, the cover tarp had blown half off and was now being dragged behind the speeding cart. Stormfly glided in just a few above the wagon and Astrid slid out of her saddle and dropped lightly down. The young man driving the cart turned to see what was going on in the back and was shocked to see a Deadly Nadder flying seven feet above the ground with its beak barely a foot away from his nose.

"WAAAHHH" he cried in surprise as he leapt off the wagon.

Astrid drew her knife and made short work of the ropes but the two dragons she had just helped had no idea that she was a friend and as soon as they were free they leapt up and attacked. One of them threw its head around and purposefully knocked her down hard. The other one moved in with its jaws open wide to bite her but Stormfly had seen them and was having none of it. With a loud screech she beat her wings harder and extended her talons grabbing a young Hobblegrunt in each one then in a single swift move, Stormfly banked up in a backward loop. When she had reached the top of her arc, Stormfly released her grip and the two young dragons were thrown up into the sky where the soon got the message and flew off screeching to find their parents.

"Are you okay?" Tuffnut called out as Astrid tried to get up.

The twins moved there dragon over the cart and Ruffnut dropped down out of her neck saddle.

"Astrid... Astrid... can you hear me?"

"Ahma...bahp" Astrid replied still a little groggy from the Hobblegrunts blow.

"BARF!" Ruffnut called out and the Zippleback right head lowed itself down.

Picking up Astrid, Ruffnut threw her up over the saddle on Barf's neck where she lay limply on her stomach.

"Tuff; get her to safety" she called to her brother.

"The Hideous Zippleback slowed down and simply dropped lightly to the ground; it seemed to Tuffnut to be the closest and safest place as the runaway cart sped on.

"STORMFLY; HELP!" Ruffnut yelled back at the dragon whose full attention was on her injured rider.

Ruffnut held up her arms as the Deadly Nadder swooped in and she was snatched away from the runaway wagon and deposited back with her friends soon after.

"Cool" Tuffnut declared a few minutes later as he scanned the area and revelled in the destruction all around him.

Two of the wagons had eventually broken up and the horses pulling them were long gone. The battered and bruised men were collecting whatever they could salvage and loading it all into the last remaining cart while the dragons and their riders stood a few hundred feet away keeping between them and the Hobblegrunts.

"Now that the Hobblegrunts are all together again, I thought that they would have all gone back to the island" Snotlout pondered.

"I'm hoping that they'll want to stay with us" Fishlegs smiled.

"Well don't expect those young ones to trust any human in a hurry."

The leader of the dishevelled men stopped his wagon loading activities; he looked over at the strange crowd in the distance and then started to wander over. He desperately wanted to get his dragons back and was highly tempted to rally his men to attack the Dragon Riders out of spite but he was painfully aware of the fact that he had no hope of succeeding against the power of their dragons. Everyone eyed him suspiciously as he approached but he did not appear to be about to draw any weapon so Snotlout held up his hand to Fishlegs and the twins in a sign to let him through; the man looked very angry. He stopped and looked down at Hiccup who was kneeling on the ground next to Dianta; Astrids head was in his lap. She had regained consciousness but was still feeling dizzy and Hiccup was still very worried about her.

"Why?" the man asked.

"You know why; I gave you the chance to avoid all this but the information I gave you was just too... inconvenient for you so you chose to ignore it; and I know that you had gone to a lot of trouble to get this far and so you weren't about to turn back without a fight. This girl... her name is Astrid... and she warned me that you wouldn't listen but I don't like to just give up without trying... so I laid it all out for you; not that it did any good."

"SOME OF MY MEN ARE BADLY HURT."

"Err... hello" Hiccup gestured to Astrid "and you may notice that there are is a family of Hobblegrunts over there with bruises, rope burns and an injured leg that we are still trying to prevent from going septic and THAT WAS ALL YOUR DOING SO DON'T COME AND GET ANGRY AT ME; I TRIED TO AVOID ALL THIS."

The man looked at Hiccup in disgust "There only animals."

"Not to me."

"You mean us" Snotlout said as he placed his hand on Hookfang's neck.

"They've saved our lives more than once" Fishlegs added.

"So we won't turn our backs when some moron causes trouble for them" Ruffnut concluded.

"BAH" the man turned on his heels and stormed off.

"Fishlegs" Hiccup looked up "could you and Dianta do me a little favour please?"

**In 1989 Tim Burton made Batman in which the Caped Crusader went up against the Joker but in the sequel, Batman had to deal with two new characters; Cat Woman and the Penguin. The 3****rd**** film brought three new characters in the form of Robin, Two Face and Riddler then in the 4****th**** file came four new faces with Batgirl, Poison Ivy, Bane and Mr. Freeze.**

**If you are wondering why I mention this, it is because I saw an interview with Dean DeBlois in which he said that Dragon 2 was originally going to be about the mysterious dragon rider who turned out to be Hiccups mom and Dragon 3 would be about Drago Bludvist. I think that would have been much better with the 2****nd**** film having more of Hiccup and Astrid flirting, more of the other Dragon Riders (who don't do much in Dragon 2) and of course it would have been especially good for Stoick who would have had more time with his family instead of...**

"**Isn't it wonderful that I've got my wife back; oh sh*t I'm dead."**

**I just hope that the next film doesn't go down the 'Batman' path and incorporate three plots. If it does then I may have to RELEASE THE KRAKEN (ie: Moon).**


	12. Chapter 12

12 Ask and It Will Be Given

The young Hobblegrunts were very nervous being so near to the Dragon Riders and it was plain to see that they still did not trust anyone at all even though they were receiving a little coaxing from their parents.

"Time" Astrid noted "hopefully that's all they need."

"And a few choice fish" Tuffnut grinned "always the best way to a dragon's heart."

"Are you sure you're well enough?" Hiccup asked "I think you'd be better off relaxing on Stormfly."

"I love it when you worry about me" she kissed his cheek "but I want the younger ones to see me riding on Redcrown so that it will become normal and familiar to them."

Hiccup wanted to suggest that one of the other riders take on the task but he could see from the look in her eyes that Astrid wouldn't go for it.

"Okay but stay close and above me; that's a big lump on your head and I want to have the best chance to catch you if you should pass out again."

"Hey... I'm fine... trust me."

The buzz of Gronckle wings made its way into Hiccups ears as Fishlegs and Meatlug returned to the group.

"Any luck?" Hiccup asked.

"Total success Hiccup; Dianta will be back soon" Fishlegs grinned.

"Well done Fishlegs" he turned to Snotlout "HEY; are you busy?"

"Need my help again, do you?"

"I could ask someone else if..."

"No don't bother" Snotlout puffed out his chest (it moved quite a lot) "I'm sure you need someone with skill."

"Yes he does" Fishlegs smirked "but Astrids recuperating so you'll have to do."

"Yeah? Well... Gronckles are slow and ugly" Snotlout huffed.

"You know you've gotten to him when all he can do is insult your dragon" Tuffnut chuckled.

"Be careful you two" Astrid called as the young men went to their dragons "you know those guys will still be very angry with you."

"Why do you think I'm taking a bodyguard?" Hiccup smiled.

"Don't worry gorgeous" Snotlout grinned "I'll bring him back to you alive and kicking."

"And with all his remaining limbs I hope" Astrid shook her finger at them.

"I swear" Ruffnut remarked to Astrid "now that Snotlout knows that he doesn't have a chance with you, he's actually getting worse."

"Yeah" Astrid agreed "confident and flirtier."

* * *

The wagon had only departed for the fishing village less than ten minutes prior and so it did not take Toothless and Hookfang very long to catch up and overtake it; they landed a few hundred yards ahead and dropped to the ground.

"Let's take the dragons off to the side" Hiccup suggested "I don't want them to think we're trying to stop them."

"Yup we're not trying to" Snotlout grinned "we are going to stop them."

"Ah... no."

"Really?"

"Just back me up if there's trouble."

"Gotcha" Snotlout nodded.

Hiccup left Toothless with Snotlout and Hookfang so he would appear less threatening as he walked towards the approaching cart full of forlorn and wounded men.

"Oh great" their leader mumbled "I wonder what that little bastard wants now."

Hiccup stopped as the wagon neared and tried to appear friendly.

"SO WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?" the man called out as the wagon stopped "HAVE WE GOT SOMETHING ELSE YOU WANT?"

"Well actually we've got something that you'll want."

"I know" he stood as he fumed "but you WON'T GIVE THEM TO US."

"I don't mean the dragons" Hiccup informed them "take a look on the road behind you."

Turning his head rapidly, the man expected to see another dragon about to attack but instead he was surprised to see a small cloud of dust rising in the distance and soon over the rise, Dianta appeared riding on one of the escaped horses with the other three being led behind her."

"They're not my horses you know; I got them from the village ALONG WITH THE WAGONS."

"I am sorry about the wagons and I know that the people you borrowed them from will be very upset but as least you can take back the horses."

"I still hate you."

"I suspected as much" Hiccup sighed "but remember that I didn't set out to make an enemy of you."

"Well you did" the arrogant man hissed.

"You tried your best" Dianta told Hiccup as they watched the wagon disappear over the next rise "but some people are just imposable to get along with and that guy reminds me of the way I use to be back when you first met me; everything has to be done his way and he doesn't care what anyone else thinks or feels.

* * *

"What was that for?" Astrid asked in surprise as Dianta gave her a big hug upon her return.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really sorry for being so selfish in the past and for all the trouble I've caused."

"But Dianta... you've already done a lot to make up for all that."

"Thank you for saying so but I think that I've only just realised what I was like... I just wish my Mom and Dad were here now."

"You should be home later tomorrow if all goes to plan" Hiccup interjected.

"Oh come on" Snotlout threw up his arms "When does anything we do ever go according to plan?"

"I hate to admit it" Fishlegs grinned "but he's right."

"Whatever" Hiccup shrugged "let's get back to camp; it's past lunch time and I haven't eaten all day."

* * *

"So we're keeping the Hobblegrunts then?" Ruffnut asked on the flight back.

"I'd like to" Hiccup replied "but after what they've been through, I'm thinking that maybe we should give them a chance to go back to their old lives first and let them make up their own minds."

"We wouldn't have to dump any stuff here if they did come home with us" Fishlegs pointed out "and we'd be able to carry all your stuff from here so you could pick up the pack we hid on the first day rather than go back for it after you drop Dianta home."

"True but it's not as if these are wild dragons from close to our home" Astrid noted "if they return to Berk with us, we'll be taking them several days flight away from their home so we have to see if they really want to come with us or they may suddenly disappear halfway back to Lookout Island."

"Right then" Hiccup decided "Astrid and I will take them back to their own island; Snotlout can take the other riders back to camp and we'll see what they want to do when they get home."

"What should I do?" Dianta asked from Stormfly's back.

"You've seen me guide Stormfly" Astrid answered "so go with Snotlout and the others and I'll see you soon."

"Okay... I hope this works" Dianta said apprehensively.

* * *

For the first time in many days Redcrown was truly happy; her family was back together again and she had made some new friends and allies.

Looking back, it had been over a year since she and Ironjaw had escaped from Dragon Island when the Vikings had attacked and they had both been enjoying their new freedom immensely; especially since her eggs had hatched and she could at last raise a brood that would not be enslaved by the Dragon Island Queen as the others had been - or so she thought.

To say that she was shocked to find her children gone when she and Ironjaw had returned from their little fishing trip would have been quite the understatement; it was true that the young ones could all fly well but they were not yet ready to go off on their own and so when the signs and smells of man became apparent the two dragons knew that there was trouble in the air (as well as the aroma of burning wood).

Sure enough the source of the smell turned out to be one of the floating things that men would build from cut trees and the four young dragons were tied up on it although they had managed to set it alight in several places. Redcrown and Ironjaw tried their hardest to get close enough to retrieve their young but the men were far too numerous and fought without mercy; Ironjaw was even gravely injured in the fight and so they were forced to retreat to the mainland.

Both the dragons felt extremely sure that no humans could ever be trusted and so Redcrown was not pleased at all to find herself being pursued through a forest by one of those two legged devils after she had procured some food for her injured mate. She was soon to discover however, that these humans weren't wild at all but instead were the highly trained pets of a group of dragons led by a Night Fury and not just any Night Fury but the very same one who had once lived in the very same volcano as Redcrown and Ironjaw had only a year ago.

These dragons that she had the good fortune to meet, all had at least one pet Viking although some had two and they were all trained to help with food and care of injuries. Redcrown found this very curious and hard to accept at first but not only were they very helpful to all the dragons but they even assisted the Night Fury to remove the metal tipped stick that the wild humans had hurled at Ironjaw.

All that night as she slumbered, Redcrown had wondered if these pet Vikings could be employed to help get her children back and by morning she concluded that it was definitely worth a try but she could not think of how it could be done.

The next day, one of them had tried to ride on her back and that upset Redcrown greatly at first until she realised that it was not fair of her to expect the Nadder to have to carry two Vikings at once while she carried none and so she relented and was surprised to find that the experience was quite enjoyable. After Redcrown had been in the air with one of the pet Vikings for a short time, she suddenly realised that her chance had come and so she and Ironjaw flew them back to their island home to show them what had happened to her offspring.

Things had started to happen almost immediately and soon all five of the dragons were with them and flying off in the same direction as her lost brood and so Redcrowns confidence began to grow although their journey was far from direct. The dragons sent some of their pets off on some kind of mission to a nest of dangerous wild humans and it appeared to her that they had barely escaped with their lives when they came running back to their dragon masters soon after. They must have had some success in their task however because the next place they flew too turned out to be the place where they had their final and complete victory.

Redcrown and Ironjaw had expected to fight for their children and they both felt very confident that they would succeed with the help of their new friends and their pets but to their surprise however, the other dragons had done all the work and they were not called on until most of the fighting was over. As the powerful Gronckle led them to the scene of the battle with two pets on its back and the graceful Nadder by its side, the first two of her captured children appeared in the air and so she cried out for them to come. The Viking girl who had once ridden on Redcrown returned to the Nadder who took the girl to where the other two children were still tied up. Redcrown watched the girl put herself in great danger as she dropped onto the moving cart and cut the young Hobblegrunts free.

'I have got to get myself one of those pet Vikings' Redcrown thought 'and one for each of the kids.'

To Redcrowns shock and disgust, the first thing that her children did when they were freed, was to attack the Nadders highly trained pet and so it came as no surprise when that same Nadder grabbed them both and threw them high into the air. Ironjaw called to the confused young dragons and the family of Hobblegrunts was united once more all thanks to a chance meeting the previous day in a forest to the south.

Her new friends continued to amaze Redcrown for later when one of the men who had taken her offspring approached them again, all the trained Vikings stood between him and the Hobblegrunts not letting him get anywhere near to the dragon family; such loyalty. Ironjaw found himself having to scold the young ones regularly as they continued to show distrust and anger towards those who had saved them but soon they all were given the chance to see their own mother carrying one of the Nadders pets as they set off for the south once more.

During the journey, most of the other dragons continued south on the mainland but the Night Fury escorted the Hobblegrunts all the way back home to their island and Redcrown began to ponder if the wonderful Nadder was possibly giving her the pet Viking on her back as a gift or was she just being allowed to borrow the girl? The answer soon came when they all arrived home; it was good to be back but after a few minutes of goodbye hugs from the Viking pets, the Night Fury lifted off and bore them both away.

Ironjaw and Redcrown looked at each other and both seemed to decide simultaneously that they would all be much better off with this odd wyre of dragons that had done so much for them over the last few days and so, with a loud screech, they called their offspring to follow them once more and they all left the island for perhaps the last time to see if they would be permitted to become members of a family that was much larger than they were currently aware of.

Of course they were all welcomed by the Dragon Riders with open arms.

* * *

**When I am not writing fan fiction, playing the Ukulele or feeding Moon, I work as a Mini Bus Driver and I often wonder if one day when I am driving some people to the airport or whatever, that I will overhear someone say to their friend "Have you read the latest post from Marty the Martian?" That would be so cool even though it will probably never happen. **** :-D**


	13. Chapter 13

13 You Go Your Way

Dianta ran her finger across the tail of the young Hobblegrunt seated beside her. Its skin was hard and tough but there were still signs of the rope burn that may or may not form permanent scars.

"You were right Fishlegs" she admitted "these Hobblegrunts aren't ugly; they're just... different that's all."

"Ah good" he replied "I glad to see that you're beginning to understand."

"Has anyone ever wondered what the dragons think about us?" Dianta asked.

"Good things I hope" Hiccup nodded.

"They certainly think better of us now than they did a few years ago" Astrid noted as she gave Stormfly a rub on the cheek.

"I think that they look upon us as their pets" Dianta continued.

Astrid threw back her head and gave a hearty laugh but Snotlout was less than impressed.

"No... way" he declared "I'm the boss and Hookfang knows it."

"What makes you say that Dianta?" Fishlegs asked.

"Well think about it for a minute; they take you with them where ever they go and you serve them... constantly. You feed them, house them, take care of any wounds and even defend them with your lives like you did today."

"They protect us too" Hiccup noted.

"Oh yes but when you add it all up, you do more for them than they do for you so although it's plain to see that they care for you deeply, it also looks like they've got you all well trained to meet their needs."

Astrid could not help herself and she began to laugh again.

"I don't know how she came up with all that but... she's right" Astrid stood up and threw her arms around Stormfly "wadda ya think girl; do you like having me as your little pet?"

The huge Nadder chirruped and snuggled into Astrid as if in full agreement.

"Well Snotlout may claim to be the boss..." Hiccup began.

"I do and I am" Snotlout interrupted.

"...but the first time I truly came face to face with Toothless, he made it perfectly clear to me that he could kill me effortlessly if he wanted to and if you add to that all the times he's saved my life, then I must admit that I live at his discretion."

"It's quite scary when you put it like that" Fishlegs shivered.

"I suppose so but I trust him... with my life."

"To bad you couldn't trust him with your leg" Tuffnut smirked and received a fist in the face from his sister.

"Thank you Ruffnut" Astrid acknowledged.

"I was closer" she replied.

"So then" Fishlegs yawned "one more night and then its home to Berk."

"Well for you guys at least" Hiccup reminded them.

"I know you have to take Dianta back" Tuffnut noted rubbing his nose "but what is this thing you have to do for your father?"

"I'm giving away the bride" Hiccup smiled.

Everybody looked at Astrid in surprise.

"NOT ME" she insisted.

"Just before he left Elydonia, Dad told me some great news" Hiccup revealed before he quietly held them in suspense for half a minute.

"WHAT?!" everyone cried.

"King Joric the Fifth of Bolthorn... is getting married in a few days" Hiccup informed them.

"Yup" Ruffnut nodded "That's definitely good news but ah... why are you giving away the bride?"

"He's marrying Sigrid the Strong."

"You... are... kidding... me" Snotlouts jaw dropped.

"Nope; I kid ye not. He couldn't stop thinking about her after their little sea voyage to Elydonia and so he asked her a few hours before she was due to leave."

"Sigrid told me he nearly fainted when she said yes" Astrid laughed.

"That's interesting" Ruffnut pondered "so that means that for the entire journey on that ship, you Astrid were the proverbial third one that made the crowd."

"I suppose I was" she smiled as she realised.

* * *

"I think we can make this work" Fishlegs told Hiccup the next morning.

After an extremely peaceful night's sleep and an early breakfast, the Dragon Riders broke camp and began to prepare for the trip home to Berk; all except for Astrid and Hiccup of course who would return to Elydonia. It had been decided that Fishlegs and Snotlout would ride the two adult Hobblegrunts back to Berk, or at least as far as Lookout Island, so that Meatlug and Hookfang would be able to carry the extra weight of Hiccup and Astrids packs. The only difficulty with this plan was making the necessary alterations to the saddles that were never meant for Hobblegrunts.

"You can always slice up one of the satchels if you need more leather straps" Hiccup suggested.

"No I don't think I will; it's just a case of adjusting the gap between the neck and body straps to account for the different wing position on a Hobblegrunt."

"Well just make sure you both give them a good test flight before you head out over the ocean; it's a long way to Lookout Island."

"Will do" Fishlegs replied.

* * *

Half an hour and several tests later, all was ready and the main group prepared to leave.

"Well... goodbye Dianta" Ruffnut smiled "I hope we meet again soon."

"Bye bye everyone and... thanks for everything; you've all taught me so much."

"It was truly our pleasure" Fishlegs bowed.

"Alright smoothie; give me a break" Snotlout snickered.

"Don't forget Snotlout" Astrid reminded "bring Ironjaw in slow when you land... no... on second thought, drop out of the saddle just before he lands... till that leg fully heals."

"Don't fret Astrid; I promise to take good care of him."

"See you back on Berk Ironjaw" Astrid rubbed the dragons chin.

"I know I can trust you to take good care of everyone Snotlout" Hiccup smiled.

"Nah" Snotlout replied sarcastically "I thought I'd let them all die horribly NOW STOP WORRYING AND LET US GET OUT OF HERE."

After taking one last look around to make sure that everyone was ready, Snotlout gave the order.

"Ruff, Tuff, take point and we'll follow with the Hobblegrunts."

"You got it" Ruffnut replied and the Hideous Zippleback took to the skies.

With a little bit of coaxing Redcrown, Ironjaw and the kids followed close behind while Meatlug and Hookfang fell in and flanked their riders. A short time later they had all turned into tiny dots in the sky and so Astrid took a sideways step to take Hiccups arm.

"Alone at last" she smiled.

"Err... hello?" Dianta waved.

"Somebody here can't take a hint" Astrid sighed.

"Never mind" Hiccup smiled "we should really be going soon anyway."

"Oh come on" Astrid huffed "isn't it you who says that there's always time for romance?"

"Sounds like something I would say" Hiccup smiled "and what could be more romantic than a wedding?"

"Ooo I forgot about that" Astrid replied and hurried off to get ready.

* * *

Dianta was feeling very nervous. Not only was she on her way home to face up to the fact that she had run away but Astrid had decided that it was time to teach her something new in dragon riding; mid air transfers.

"Do we have to do this now?" she asked.

"No we don't" Astrid replied "but we can't do it tomorrow so it's either now or next year; assuming your parents let you come to Berk."

"Okay then" Dianta took a deep breath "what do I do?"

"Well it's always easier for the person in front to go so I'll show you first. Now remember; both Toothless and Stormfly can fly down faster than you can fall and both dragons have rescued falling people before."

"Including one that Astrid pushed off a watchtower in Elydonia" Hiccup grinned.

"You didn't?" Dianta gasped.

"She deserved it" was Astrids only comeback.

On Astrids command, Stormfly rose up and glided above Toothless.

"Remember now; the dragons know what they're doing so trust them."

After swinging her right leg over to the left, Astrid slid sideways out of her saddle and dropped down onto Toothless. She stood behind Hiccup for a second before stepping around him and taking the front seat position. In an often practiced way, Toothless swept to the left as Stormfly dropped down several feet before the Night Fury banked right again to take its position above this time allowing Astrid to repeat the manoeuvre although she stayed in the rear seat position this time.

"Okay then Dianta; any questions?" Astrid asked.

"What do I do if I fall?"

"You won't; have you changed your mind?"

"No" Dianta took a deep breath "I'm ready."

"Just remember what you saw me do; leg over, lean on your side and slide off and don't forget to keep your eye on the place where you want to be as you will land where you look."

"Right... so much to remember" she took another deep breath and began.

Her right leg crossed over Stormfly's neck; so far so good. She leant her right side on the saddle just like Astrid did and she slid off the dragon.

"Err... Hiccup" Astrid called down "are you okay?"

"Iff wol phwee hen fee hets ha phut aht uf MAH HOUF."

Somewhere between Nadder and Night Fury, Dianta had experienced a change of heart and decided not to go and so she found herself in the awkward position of hanging by her arms from Stormflys neck with her eyes shut tight while standing on Hiccups shoulders with one foot planted firmly in his mouth and he was not happy about it.

"Come on Dianta you're halfway there; just swing your legs behind Hiccup and let go."

"I... I can't" replied the terrified girl.

Hiccup somehow managed to pull the foot from his mouth and after spitting a few times, was finally able to give Toothless an order.

"Higher Bud but just a little."

It was a good idea but it did not exactly work as expected. Hiccup hoped that as the gap between the dragons began to narrow, Dianta's feet would make contact with the saddle and she would have the confidence to let go of Stormfly but the reality turned out to be somewhat different.

"Oh... my... goodness" Astrid smirked and giggled and what she saw.

When Dianta's hands had finally slipped away from the dragon's neck, Astrid and Stormfly swept right to fly alongside Toothless but instead of seeing Dianta sitting on the saddle behind Hiccup, she saw the young girl sitting on his shoulders shivering with fear with her arms wrapped around the top of his head.

"Well I'm glad Toothless knows where he's going" Hiccup noted "because I can't see a thing."

* * *

After a few minutes of patient coaxing, Dianta finally managed to climb down from Hiccups shoulders and was seated safely on Toothless' saddle once again.

"That was embarrassing" she sighed.

"Don't worry too much" Astrid encouraged her "at least you didn't throw up this time."

Hiccup cringed at the memory and decided not to tempt fate any longer.

"I think we've trained enough for today so let's just enjoy the rest of the trip to Elydonia and besides; we're almost back at the hill where we left our stuff" Hiccup noted unaware that the situation on that hilltop had changed somewhat since their journey south several days ago.

* * *

**Do you have trouble keeping your lunch where it should be during those rough weather dragon flights? Then you need Dr. Gobbers Air Sickness Pills from the same man who brought you Dr. Gobbers Burn Ointment.**

"**I swear by Dr. Gobbers Burn Ointment" says Snotlout Jorgensen "after I finish swearing at Hookfang for setting himself alight while I'm riding him."**

**Dr. Gobbers Air Sickness Pills contain a scientifically proven ingredient (old fish heads) designed to make you very sick before you start your trip so you can get it all out of the way before you leave home; just listen to what some others have said.**

"**Gobbers pills are great" says Ruffnut Thorston "I gave some to my brother and I've been laughing ever since."**

"**If Gobber doesn't stop calling himself a doctor, I'm gonna shove a Terrible Terror down his undies" Olvor (a real doctor).**


	14. Chapter 14

**Welcome one and all to the 2****nd**** to last chapter in the shortest story I've written so far (even though it's three time the longer than originally planned). Thanks for reading the whole thing and for all your comments.**

* * *

14 The Return of the Dragon

Stormfly and Toothless circled in and set down lightly on the wide crest of the high hill but they landed on the opposite side of the clearing to where they had enjoyed their lunch on the journey south because with the sun moving slowly to the west, this side gave the dragons a little bit more shade in which to rest; Dianta was also glad to be back on the ground after her stressful training exercise even if it would only be for a short time.

As Astrid dropped down to her feet she suddenly went very tense; she looked quickly around her but only for a second or two before she seemed to return to normal. She gave a quick hand signal to Stormfly who instantly lay down and closed her eyes.

"Good girl; stay alert" Astrid whispered and scratched the dragons cheek.

"I've got a little task for you Dianta" Astrid spoke up.

"What would you like me to do?" she replied with a smile.

Every time Dianta did something requested of her, she felt like she was one step closer to being allowed to migrate to Berk to become a Dragon Rider.

"Nothing big" Astrid replied "I just want to have some time alone with Hiccup so take a little ten minute walk in… that direction."

"If you say so Astrid" Dianta grinned knowingly before she wandered off into the trees behind the dragons while whistling a merry tune.

"AND NO PEEKING" Astrid called after her.

"Alone at last" Hiccup smiled as he approached Astrid from behind and put his arms around her waist.

"Mmmm" Astrid purred as he kissed her lightly on the neck "just keep doing that and don't act surprised."

"Ah… so…" Hiccup whispered as he nuzzled her ear "what is it this time; are we being watched again?"

"Near the trees on the opposite side of the clearing."

"Well it can't be Little Freya and her friends" he deduced "We're a bit too far from Berk for that."

Astrid snickered a little "No… this guy is definitely a professional; he's been waiting for days, he's downwind so I almost didn't notice him but Stormfly gave me a heads up."

"But she's not doing anything"

"Not now… but she's aware of what's going on."

"He's been waiting for us to get back here?"

"I believe so."

"You have a plan I assume."

"You assume well" Astrid turned around and placed her arms around Hiccups neck to hide their communication.

"So what do we do?" Hiccup asked.

"Wait for Dianta to get back and then follow my lead."

"Is she safe back there?"

"Yup, I think so; there couldn't be anyone in the forest unless they're better at camouflage and stealth than the guy behind you and he's one of the best I've ever come across."

"Better than you?" he asked.

"Maybe… but we'll soon find out."

"What do we do while we wait for Dianta?"

"Pretty much what we're doing now" she grinned "with one slight alteration."

"Oh… and what's that?"

"You get your hand off my butt."

"Spoiled sport."

* * *

Hiccup and Astrid had become quite accustomed to a certain lack of privacy on Berk, even when they were deep in the woods or on the other side of the island. It had all started when Astrid's stealth games with Stormfly had developed into a spectator sport for some of the Vikings. The children simply enjoyed taking some high ground or climbing a tree where they could observe the contest and argue constantly about who among them would have the best chance of avoiding the Deadly Nadder if it were they being hunted instead of Astrid but the adults had taking to wagering on the outcome by betting on a pool as to how much time would elapse before they heard Stormfly's cry of victory. Neither Hiccup nor Astrid though, had been expecting to suffer from those indignities when they were in another land.

"I'M BACK" Dianta called out a few minutes later giving them a little warning of her impending arrival.

"Well timed" Astrid left Hiccup with his lips still puckered "I have another little training exercise for you."

Astrid looked around her feet and picked up a roundish, flattish rock and placed it on top of a much larger rock that was almost completely buried in the ground. After doing this, she leapt onto the center top rock which began to move under her as she lifted her right foot into the air.

"A good sense of balance is of vital importance as you have found out over the last few days; so I want you to do this while Hiccup retrieves our gear. Every time you fall, change feet" she leapt back off again and gestured to the rock with flourish.

Dianta stumbled off immediately after stepping onto the rock and she soon realized that what Astrid had made look easy, was actually very difficult.

"That's okay" Astrid encouraged "nothing wrong with falling off; you only fail if you stop trying."

"I had a teacher once who had a saying" Dianta said as she wobbled on her other foot before stumbling off again "He used to tell us 'Do… or do not; there is no try' almost constantly."

"Sounds like a moron to me" Astrid mumbled "how can you 'do' if you don't try first? Now you keep practicing while go into the woods here; I have to go… you know… I have to go."

Astrid took as much advantage as she could from the distractions provided by Hiccup moving rocks and Dianta trying to balance on one as she drew her knife and moved swiftly yet silently around the clearing to come in behind the camouflaged man. She slowed as she drew closer so as to not give herself away as well as listening closely for any sign of movement ahead of her. If the man intended any harm to them, Astrid wanted to be ready to fight back.

"Well I don't see any reason to hide and remain silent any longer" the man spoke softly as soon as he realized that there was someone close behind him.

"May I enquire; is that knife meant for me?" he asked.

"I can honestly say that it fully depends on you" Astrid pointed out.

"Ah… I see; a case of one wrong move and I'm dead."

"That about sums it up" Astrid informed him "you are armed I assume?"

"Yes indeed; I have a knife similar to yours in my belt, a throwing knife in each boot and a loaded and cocked crossbow at my side."

"You were wise not to reach for it" Astrid whispered surprised at his honesty.

"It is only for my defense; you must understand that I had very little idea of exactly what or who I was waiting for."

"Alright… I can believe that… now stand up slowly."

"Hello everyone" the man spoke normally again as he arose and walked forward with his hands slightly raised.

"AAAAHHH" Dianta fell of her rock in surprise but Hiccup simply turned to the man and smiled.

"And a very good day to you sir and may I ask what you are doing here today?"

"You may ask" the man grinned "but since this is my country and you are the strangers here, perhaps it is I who should be asking you that question."

"Except you were the one in hiding but I will concede to go first. Since you were waiting for us, you must know that we were here once before" the man nodded as Hiccup continued "we came here the first time only to rest briefly and we would not have returned at all if it were not for the supplies that we were forced to leave behind."

"Yes the supplies that your flying beasts could not carry."

"That was how he knew we were returning Babe" Astrid still stood behind the man with her knife in her hand; close enough to act quickly but back far enough so that he could not disarm her.

"Indeed, your highly skilled friend is right although I had no idea when you would return so I am glad to see you at last; my position was less than ideal and far from comfortable."

"You could have been waiting forever" Dianta noted "how did you know that we didn't just dump the stuff."

"Ah… it is plain to see why the young lady behind me is training you" Dianta began to wish she had not said anything as the man continued "if the items that the young man with the highly crafted limb had been merely abandoned, then they would not have been so well protected and hidden."

"You've inspected the pack I assume?" Hiccup asked.

"I have indeed sir and although they were mostly such simple items, I was greatly impressed with the tube of shaped glass that makes the distances diminish."

"The what?" Dianta spoke again then wished she hadn't.

"I call it a spyglass" Hiccup informed them both although Dianta still had no idea what they were talking about as she had never seen it.

"An appropriate name considering the nature of our work."

"Well I think you have just told us why you're here" Astrid noted.

"He has?" Dianta bit her lip as she silently told herself to keep quiet and listen.

"He's a spy" Hiccup voiced the obvious for the young trainee.

"I prefer the term 'Obtainer of Vital Intelligence' as it has a more legitimate sound it" the man smiled.

"Except that acronym is OOVI" Astrid pointed out "spy rolls off the tongue much better."

"I'm afraid that you assume too much about our presence here though" Hiccup informed the man "we're not spies… although I'd be lying if I said that we weren't interested in gathering a little information about where we are but more out of curiosity."

"So you don't want to know about where the New Loran forces are at their weakest?" the man grinned.

"Only if we're at any risk from them, otherwise I'm more interested in what's out there… over the next hill and the next; you get the idea."

"A young man with an explorer's heart… and the means to make that dream a reality" He glanced at the resting dragons.

Toothless had not taken his eyes off the man ever since he had stood up but Hiccup and Astrid seemed quite calm and happy so the dragon merely waited to see what the outcome of this unexpected meeting might be.

"This hardly seems like something a spy would need" Astrid remarked as she picked up the smallest crossbow she had ever seen "this looks more like the weapon of an assassin."

"Please be very careful with that" the man with the pointed beard begged "it has a…"

But Astrid had already held it out at arm's length and taken aim at a tree knot.

"…hair trigger" he finished as the tiny bolt embedded itself in the center of the knot.

Now that the weapon was no longer a risk to anyone, Astrid tossed it back to its owner.

"As I said before, this is just for my own defense; I swear to you I am no assassin."

"I'll believe you if you give me no reason to doubt you; my name is Hiccup" Hiccup declared as he held out his hand.

"Darius Gershwin at your service" the man suddenly went tense as he shook hands with Hiccup.

As a man of espionage, Darius Gershwin had made a life time habit of using various false names and identities and so he found himself dumb stuck and in a form of mild shock after he had given this disarming young man his real name without a second thought.

"Are you alright Mr. Gershwin?" Hiccup asked concerned.

"Err.. you ah.. seem to be missing some of your friends" he quickly changed the subject "I hope they have not come to any harm in the southlands."

"They're all fine thank you" Astrid said suspiciously "you read the land I assume."

"Yes but I also observed your arrival and departure from my home; I am now in a state of semi retirement and so I spend much of my time in a small town nearby. All your flying beasts appeared to be different from each other; can you tell me about them?"

"I can… but I'm not sure what you will do with the information so I'm inclined not to do so" Hiccup was polite but firm.

"I understand; I originally thought that I would merely observe you from my hiding place but since I have been discovered, I thought that it would not hurt to ask."

"So you've waiting here all this time just on the off chance that the Dragon Riders might return?" Dianta asked.

"Dragons?" Darius Gershwin looked surprised "does that mean they can breathe fire too?"

Dianta felt her face turning bright red as both Hiccup and Astrid glared at her.

"I would like to say that it is just a name but I seriously doubt that you would believe me" Hiccup sighed.

"Please… I know you don't trust me but I must see it."

Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other and both resigned themselves to the situation.

"Toothless" Hiccup called as he pointed straight up "Plasma Blast!"

* * *

**The last of the dragon jokes for this story:**

**Why did the Nadder cross the road?**

**To get the chicken (yum yum).**


	15. Chapter 15

15 The Promotion

The blue flash that exploded in the high clouds was visible for miles around and although the land was sparsely populated, several people did witness it in rear and wonder but only one of them knew exactly where it had come from and he saw it as a very bad sign indeed.

Fotherington had been observing the distant hill from his hidden camp for the last few days as per his master's orders and his attention had only increased after he had witnessed two of the flying creatures returning less than half an hour previously. This was precisely what he and the master had been waiting for and so he made sure to pay special attention from that moment on but the sight of the flame in the clouds made him feel very apprehensive for his master's safety.

* * *

"That was truly amazing" Darius Gershwin declared "how did you come to be in possession of such amazing creatures?"

"That is rather a long story that I don't really want to go into at the moment" Hiccup made it plain that he still did not fully trust this self confessed spy.

"But there is one theory that we don't own them" Astrid grinned at Dianta "but that they own us... as pets."

"Interesting; much like a cat would" Darius did not miss a trick "may I... sit down please."

"Before you do" Astrid tensed a little "Hiccup will be removing the knives from your belt and boots and checking you for other weapons."

"Of course... be my guest."

Hiccup took Astrids advice and soon found the three knives but after a thorough check was unable to detect any more weapons apart from the unloaded crossbow pistol. Darius was well past what many people would refer to as middle aged and so he was pleased to at last be able to lower his arms completely and sit down on a large rock.

"I assume you would like to get as much information from us as you can" Hiccup acknowledged "but before I say anything else I would like to know who you work for and what you think they would do with the information that you give them."

"Well I was in the employ of the royal house of New Loren for most of my career but now, as I previously mentioned, I am in semi retirement which means that I have been doing the occasional favour for one of the Emperor's Generals as well as training an apprentice for the last... oh... fourteen, fifteen years... I've lost track; not good for a man who's trade is in facts and details but I have decided that the time has definitely come for me to cease this arrangement and so I will not be reporting to him anymore."

"So you expect me to believe that you are not going to tell anyone about our dragons?" Hiccup doubted the man's word.

"My employer already knows a little because I did send him a report as soon as I first witnessed your arrival earlier in the week but he does not know that these creatures are dragons and I do not intend to see or write to him again."

"But what if he captures you?" Hiccup pointed out.

"I could be in the same room with him and he would not know that I was there... in fact nobody would not even my apprentice and I have taught him everything I know; in fact the only person that I suspect would be able to detect my presence is the young lady with the knife at my back."

"Me?" Astrid declared in surprise.

"You my dear are the reason that I have decided to end my current arrangement with the General."

"Why?

"Because you are an anomaly; you should not exist but clearly you do."

"And you are beginning to make me angry" Astrid fumed.

"Please... I meant no insult; I merely meant that I could never have dreamt that someone so young could have reached such a high level of skill in stealth and tracking ability and so, like it or not, I have decided to devote this stage of my life to learning what I can about you and your training methods" Darius smiled with satisfaction.

"Well I don't like it" Astrid declared.

"And we don't have any intention of allowing you to come with us" Hiccup added.

"My dear young sir; if I cannot find out what I desire to know without your help, then I do not deserve to know it at all and the only way that you can prevent me from doing all that I can to procure this information would be for you to kill me now. But I do not believe that you are the kind of people who would do such a thing."

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other in surprise.

"In that case I don't think we have anything more to say to one another and so we will bid you fair well" Hiccup declared bluntly.

"Yes... well... I do apologise if I have upset you, but one thing that I have always demanded of my apprentice or anyone else who I may be training, is complete honesty about their reasons and intentions for wishing to learn the skills that I teach and so I felt that I should show you the same courtesy."

"YOU ARE NOT MY APPRENTICE AND I AM NOT TEACHING YOU ANYTHING." Astrid clenched her fists in anger; this man actually had her a little worried.

"I can understand your reluctance my dear for it's true that you do know very little about me, but it is also true that you have been teaching me many things ever since I first encountered you several days ago even though you were not in my presence until very recently."

There was a short time near the start of their meeting during which Hiccup had felt a distinct liking for this strange man but now he felt extremely unsure as to whether he could be trusted or not. He appeared to be honest in his dealings with them, but he also seemed to be a very dangerous man to know and so hiccup decided that retreat was the best option open to them. He certainly did not have any intention of killing the man in cold blood and so after retrieving the hidden satchel and checking on its contents the Dragon Riders lifted off and flew due east until Baldcrest Hill was completely out of sight at which time they resumed their journey north.

"Do you think that fooled him?" Astrid asked.

"I doubt it" Hiccup replied "given enough time I suspect that Darius Gershwin will be able to track us all the way to Berk, so we can only hope that he doesn't intend to spread his knowledge about us just as he indicated."

"So you believe him?"

"I would be foolish to simply take him at his word."

"So... you do believe him then."

"Yes Astrid" Hiccup grinned sheepishly.

* * *

Darius Gershwin watched the two dragons disappear in the eastern sky.

"I suppose they had to try and throw me off" he smiled as he spoke to no one.

After making a few more observations around the area where the dragons had rested, Darius looked thoughtfully to the north but decided that it would not be a good idea to follow the Dragon Riders to closely as it may force them to take action against him and he did not wish to be stopped until he had tracked them all the way to their home. There was also the fact that they had been to the south of New Loren for a few days and so Darius concluded that it was there he should begin his journey to discover the truth.

The pack that his apprentice had left him was far too heavy for him to carry alone on such a long road ahead and so he removed a few essential items and took one last look around.

"Goodbye Fotherington... and good luck."

* * *

Epilogue

Two draught horses and the thoroughbred were grazing in the meadow near the tree with the large canopy where Fotherington had remained encamped for the last two days at the base of Baldcrest Hill.

When the blue fire in the sky had caught his attention several days ago, Fotherington had begun to wonder if he should ignore his master's orders to stay away and should instead rush to his aid. He had just decided to remain when twenty minutes later a pair of flying creatures passing by heading east and because that was precisely what the master was waiting for, Fotherington had figured that it was only a matter of time now before he would return to his apprentice but several more days had passed with no sign of him whatsoever and so the tall young man had broken camp at the appointed time and returned as ordered to the base of Baldcrest Hill.

A further two days had gone by as per his masters orders and Fotherington now prepared to hike to the top with a small backpack containing food, water and medical supplies although he did not expect to find his master alive when he arrived there in a few hours. The apprentice spy pondered upon the various scenarios and fates that could have befallen his master and try as he might, he could not get the most horrific ones out of his mind. There had been five creatures and seven people there over a week ago but if only two of the flying beasts had continued north, then perhaps the master had been forced to defend himself or even make a pre-emptive attack and although he may have killed many of them, their numbers may have overwhelmed him in the end. Perhaps three of the beasts and some of the people were still there on top of the hill meaning that the master may still be in hiding and unable to move and so Fotherington decided that he should approach the top of the hill quietly and fully alert least he give his master away.

The scene that greeted him was nothing like what his fertile imagination had prepared him for; the top of the hill was empty with no sign of violence or struggle. Thanks to the years of training that his master had provided to him ever since he had been apprenticed to the master spy on his tenth birthday, Fotherington was able to find the place where the beasts had landed and where two people had walked off into the wood. The trail of the first one caused him no trouble as the steps of the adolescent male were bold and easy to follow but the footsteps of the second, although hard to find, were very familiar to him.

Chances were that this was the trail of the young lady that his master had brought to his attention during his first trip to this place and he knew that these were the feet he should follow but much to his regret, the trail seemed to end as soon as it left the clearing. Fotherington pondered the way that the trail just stopped when he suddenly remembered what the master had said about this girl; '_It appears to me that she wasn't even trying to remain hidden; stealth for this young woman, appears to be a normal part of her life_' and so if her normal movements were so difficult for an expert to track then finding her when she does not wish to be found must be near to impossible but the apprentice was determined to try.

The first thing he would have to remember was not to destroy any signs of her direction by just barging in without thinking and so he thought and soon realize that he was starting with only assumptions and not knowledge and so he carefully backtracked to the crest of the hill to start again. Fotherington spent the best part of an hour studying the crest of the hill and its surrounds and came to the following conclusion; there was no fight and although his master had been discovered, he was still very much alive. Much of pack three was still hidden where his master had concealed himself but two things were missing; the survival bag and the pouch of gold coins but the rest appeared to have been left for Fotherington to recover.

Near to where his master had camouflaged himself, Fotherington discovered where the young lady had followed the master into the clearing but as he backtracked her trail into the undergrowth, the tracks disappeared once more.

"Oh my" he began speaking to himself.

The girls trail had vanished on the other side of the hilltop and reappeared behind his master hiding place; this fact made his heart beat much faster. Fotherington had been in the employ of his master as an apprentice and servant for over fourteen years now and had never known of anyone who could rival the abilities and skills of the man whose real name was unknown to even his closest friends or acquaintances (including Fotherington), but here was a girl who could not only rival but best the master at his own game.

"Oh… my" he repeated.

After another two hours of intense searching, Fotherington finally found a sign of his master's departure on the lower tree line on the opposite side of the hill; the creatures had flown east but the master had departed to the south several days ago without retuning to fetch anything or give any further orders. For a few minutes, Fotherington felt lost and a little scared but then he remembered a very important part of his final conversation with the master nine days ago.

* * *

"Good day to you sir" the scruffy young boy greeted Fotherington upon his return to the home of the master spy "where would the Lord of the House be sir?"

"I'm afraid to say that you are looking at him" he gave the boy three copper coins "go and get yourself fed and return in an hour; I will have a message for you to deliver to the capital."

"Yes sir but err… I am normally given only two coins for me dinner sir."

"It is a time of promotion lad" the master declared as he entered his house.

The only person in the world who knew Fotherington's real name was now gone and so it fell to him to take over as the new master; he just hoped that he would be up to the challenge.

* * *

**Thanks for reading everyone and a very special thank you to those who have given the re-write a second reading; I hope to do better in the future.**

**Nasty of me to leave some cliff hangers but I am hoping that now you are desperate to find out what happened to Darius and also to Hiccup and Astrid as they return to Elydonia for the wedding of Sigrid and Joric; well… I'm working on the next story but it will take me a while. Some of the things I'm working on now were meant to be in chapters 6 to 8 so when I got up to chapter 12 without getting to them, I began to realize that the story was getting away from me again and it was time to split the tail of the tale lest I end up with another 50 chapter epic.**

**Hope you all had a Merry Christmas or other holiday and I'll talk to you all again soon (ish),**

**Marty :-D &amp; Moon :-3 (skol)**

**(Advertising update: Don't forget to look for my other stories on the FictionPress website.)**


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